A Vision of Love
by J420rdan
Summary: Alice thought Jasper was her soulmate. However, when she begins to have visions of a new human boy attending Forks High School, she must question everything she knew to be true. Starts off BellaxOC but will become AlicexOC, and then...you'll have to read and see! Contains BDSM themes and relationships as well as drug use.
1. Chapter 1

**PREFACE**

If you really, _really_ think about it, you notice millions of things every fraction of a second. Information is constantly demanding your attention every way you look. Try it now —just sit still, and think about every little thing you see, hear, and feel. Try and lose yourself in all of the tiny idiosyncrasies of your surroundings. Don't think of anything else…focus only on what your senses are telling you. Embrace every aspect of your world's existence.

Actually, nevermind. I've given you too broad of a scope for the analogy I'm trying to make. Instead, if you will, focus on a single object. Focus on one thing within your line of sight. Get to know it as thoroughly as you can. Stare at it —memorize each seemingly inconsequential element as it is revealed to you. What color is the object? What is its relative size? What makes this object unique in comparison to absolutely everything else in the universe?

Maybe you feel calm without thoughts of your social life buzzing around in your head. Maybe you feel peaceful after truly appreciating whatever thing you gazed at.

But maybe you're feeling truly alarmed; only now realizing how many miniscule details make up this item. I know that's how I felt the first time I tried this exercise.

However, needless to say, I'm very different than you. You only know the facets of your object because you buckled down and concentrated. Every single factor of every single sight, sound, smell, texture, and taste I'm exposed to, I register. I literally see, hear, smell, touch, and taste everything in my surroundings.

Think about all the odd little quirks you learned about whatever item you selected. Now imagine if you had learned all that in 1/100th of a second, and you learn the same amount of data every 1/100th of a second you look at it. Now imagine you understood that number of facts about everything — _every speck of dust_ — in your line of sight. Can you even envision the overwhelming tidal wave of observations?

Maybe you can't wrap your head around it, but that's okay. That's why we're different. Because knowing everything about every single molecule of water in that tidal wave is my reality. I learn it without thinking. It doesn't even take me a second to know positively _everything_ about _everything_ in my line of sight.

It's the same thing about the other four senses, and it's because of the hypersensitivity and speed of my mind. If an average vampire's mind is as fast as a Ferrari, mine can teleport.

A very insightful man once told me my hypersensitivity was a gift, and I've always believed that wholeheartedly. But I'm going to cast the clock backwards, to a time before my gift was an ability, and previous to being told by the vampire I mentioned that it was even a gift. No, this was back when I thought my awareness was only a knack.

 **ONE**

I was the new kid, so it goes without saying that every pair of eyes was glued to me that first day of school. In this inconvenience, however, I was not alone. There was a girl —another junior, in fact— who was joining Forks High School that Tuesday of January 18th as well. Her name was Isabella Swan.

I knew this only because in a town the microscopic size of Forks, news travels like wildfire.

She and I were seated in the front office. It was similar to every other front office I'd ever encountered —the padded folding chairs, commercial carpet, notice-crowded walls, and abundance of indoor plant life were unremarkable. My acquaintance, who sat to my right, shared my views if her expression was anything to go by. And with me analyzing it, her face was as good as an encyclopedia. I was more observant and intuitive than your usual run-of-the-mill John Doe.

The room was cut in half by a long counter, cluttered with wire baskets full of papers and brightly colored flyers taped to the fronts. There were three desks behind the counter, one of which was manned by a large, red-haired woman wearing glasses. She wasn't particularly attractive —excuse my wandering eyes. Even at the time, my constant vigilance of every iota in existence had some potency. Of course, it was nowhere near as developed. I could only read people's expressions more thoroughly, read and see with perfect clarity at greater distances, and see fairly well in the dark at this point. My other senses were only slightly more finely-tuned than my fellow humans'.

"Alright!" exclaimed Mrs. Cope (or so her name tag called her), tucking away a folder she had been sifting through. "Can Mr. Jordan Castro and Isabella Swan stand?"

"It's Bella," the girl said, a small undercurrent of annoyance in her reply. So she preferred 'Bella' to her birth name…maybe I could change her mind.

Bella was not the textbook definition of drop-dead gorgeous, but she had very symmetrical features and was easy to look at. Her eyes were brown and especially expressive compared to others I knew —brown eyes are commonly depthless. She was very pretty, actually. Pale, but pretty.

Mrs. Cope nodded, delving into another stack of paperwork. Her body language indicated at least another five minutes of waiting. I sighed, letting my head fall gently against the plaster wall. Boredom nipped at my heels.

"Bella," I said, attempting to dodge the dullness of the moment. Those communicative eyes fell upon my own, and I gave her a reassuring smile. After a moment, she smiled a small smile back. "Where are you from?"

"Phoenix," she replied, and with one look at her white skin, an eyebrow of mine raised in doubt. "My mother is part albino," she explained, jokingly I was sure.

I gave her another smile —in appreciation of her joke— and returned my gaze to Mrs. Cope. My thoughts, however, were still centered on Bella. Would she be my first girlfriend here in Forks? I couldn't think of a reason why not.

"Where are _you_ from?" she asked after a moment. I met her gaze once more, and she looked away. I didn't see this as rude. People often don't look straight back at me when we first meet. I've been told I have penetrating eyes.

"The question is, where am I _not_ from," I told her. "My family moves at least twice a year…my parents are travel-buffs."

"Oh." A pause. "Charlie —my dad, I mean— is the chief of police here. My mom's back in Florida."

"Oh."

Time passed. I didn't want to press her for information, because she seemed like the kind of person who would expect information in return, and I'm the kind of person who'd rather know everything about a body before a body knew anything about me.

Mrs. Cope stood and motioned us to the counter. A class schedule was proffered to each of us. I scanned it quickly ––English, government, trigonometry, gym, lunch, biology, and Spanish, in that order. I took a glance at hers ––English, government, trigonometry, Spanish, lunch, biology, then gym.

So we had four classes together. Excellent.

Mrs. Cope handed us a school map and told us to share, highlighting the best routes to our classes, Bella's in yellow, mine in blue. Once we were back in the rain of Forks, I gave my fellow newcomer the map. I had long before discovered I was more apt at finding my way around a new school without an atlas.

I continued to watch Bella as I walked with her. The girl's nose was buried in that map. My eyes scanned over it involuntarily. I reached out and grabbed it, tossing it into a nearby waste basket.

She narrowed her eyes at me. "What was that for?" she demanded, her anger resembling that of a kitten's.

"Don't worry, I got this," I told her, taking her arm gently and steering the both of us in the direction of Building three.

There weren't many students at Forks High School ––maybe 400. Everyone looked more or less the same, clad in dark-colored raincoats, faces obscured by umbrellas. The low sound of Bella's teeth chattering poked my ears, though she wore a black coat. For a moment I wished I had a sweater to offer her, but since I had none, we continued in silence.

"So your name is Jordan," she said, hugging herself as we passed the cafeteria, which (according to the long-forsaken map) was central to the campus. "Where did you live right before you came to Forks?"

"LA," I said, rain trailing down my face and dampening my hair and clothes. "Before that, Atlanta, NYC, New Orleans, Denver, Springfield, the Jersey Shore, Albuquerque… and about a dozen more."

"Wow," she stated simply, crossing her arms. "You weren't kidding."

"No," I agreed. "Now it's your turn ––your parents are divorced, and you've probably lived with your mom for the majority of the time…why the move?"

She shifted uneasily. My filling-in-the-blanks was another thing all my new friends learned to get accustomed to. "Umm, yes and yes. Rene, my mom, has a new boyfriend named Phil. Phil travels a lot, and Rene didn't want to uproot me, but I know traveling with him makes her happy, so I moved here."

I thought about that for a moment. She prized her mother's happiness over her own; Bella was selfless. I nodded to myself, creating a mental list of her character traits. "Huh," was all I actually said to her as we reached the door to Building three. I opened it for her, and we made our way inside.

A tall, balding man with a nametag identifying him as Mr. Mason greeted us with overt enthusiasm. My pale friend was quick to transform her face into a tomato. As he began speaking to us about the required reading he'd assigned a few days previous, I took a look around. There were maybe eighteen other people in the class ––very small numbers in comparison to what I was used to. I shrugged it off, and after his invitation, took one of the two empty desks in the back.

Bella joined me, blatantly relieved at not being introduced to the class. I doubt how necessary it would have been, because even as we talked in the hallways, I heard countless murmured 'Isabella Swan's and 'Jordan Castro's. There was no disputing that everyone in the room knew exactly who we were.

Mr. Mason rambled about Shakespeare, Bronte, Chaucer, and Faulkner as he pointed at the whiteboard with a yardstick. It was comforting that I had read everything already ––and an assurance of free time. I sank into my chair, making myself comfortable, and began to contemplate ways to approach Bella.

Getting girls was different in small towns versus, say, Los Angeles. I'd inferred that much myself. Care need be taken that you don't sleep with two or more members of any social circle, which vets your options right away at a smaller school. In either case, it was possible to gain a reputation, which I managed to do virtually every time despite my taking every effort to avoid doing so. Some girls, it's just for fun, and that's established mutually beforehand. Sometimes it's a friends-with-benefits arrangement, and other times I ask a girl to be my girlfriend. But, I haven't fallen in love. Not yet.

I took another gander at the other teenagers that filled Mr. Mason's classroom. All of them were seated ahead of Bella and I, and while one would think that would deter them from staring, they still managed. My eyes reflected into any pair that wandered near me. Each looked away.

"Do you like English?" I murmured to Bella, gazing fixatedly at Mr. Mason's reddish and balding head. His lips were moving independent of his eyes, signaling that he wasn't in touch with his emotions, or so was the case with most others. This was what I did in my spare time —people-watching— learning as much as I could about anyone and everyone. You automatically have the upper hand if you know more about someone than they do about you, and it's easier to interact with them…at least for me.

"I speak it," she replied, making me smile. "And I like to read."

"What do you like to read, Bella?"

She shrugged. "Jane Austen is my favorite."

The rest of the period, I studied her face through my peripheral vision. She was disinterested, maybe for the same reason I was. Her shrug indicated either that she considered reading just a way to pass time or did it often enough to rule it out as only a hobby. I thought the latter was more likely. So she'd read the books Mr. Mason was rambling on about, just as I had. And that's why she was bored.

I, for one, don't bore easily. People-watching is always possible unless you're alone. And since Bella was my current target, I'd discovered she was a selfless bookworm so far. But certainly there was more to her.

The bell rang, and a boy with severe acne plaguing his face and oily black hair turned around in his seat, coming nose to nose with Bella. "You're Isabella Swan, aren't you?"

I watched Bella carefully. She gave him the once-over, her face turning placid after her inspection. Judgment had been passed onto the gangly kid, one without a connotation. So she liked to read people as well. She was intuitive.

"Bella," she corrected, earning the eyes of all students within a three-desk radius of us.

"And you're Jordan Castro," he said, angling to me.

I met his gaze, smiling belatedly. "Yes," I answered.

He looked back to Bella instinctively. It appeared my 'penetrating eyes' bothered these Washingtonians more than usual. Then again, I supposed Forks was particularly sheltered, being so small and incased within a dense forest. "Where's your next class?" he asked her.

She reached for her bag. I stood up, slinging mine over my shoulder. "We both have government with Mr. Jefferson —building six."

Bella's hand closed around the handle of her bag and she stood as well. I silently but firmly told myself to watch my step. There is a certain possessiveness I feel towards everyone I meet. The more I like them, the more I try and tuck them under my wing.

There's no superiority complex, I just am very picky about my friends, and once people know things about you, it's better to keep them close than let them drift.

"I'm headed toward building four; I could show you two the way…." He was being overly helpful, meaning he was a schmoozer or had a low self-esteem and was looking for an ally. "I'm Eric," he added.

This time, I kept my mouth shut. Eric could lead the way if Bella wanted. I watched her.

She smiled tentatively. "Thanks."

The three of us headed out into the rain, which was coming down harder than before. While the majority of the students were scrambling for cover or had their raincoats pulled over their heads, I would have been perfectly content to just stand there if I didn't have a class to attend. The feeling of the cold rain droplets drumming against my skin was invigorating.

Eric kept stride with Bella, and I was one step behind them. Several people behind us were purposely walking close enough to eavesdrop. I was torn between abruptly stopping and letting one of them smack into me, scattering them all, or sticking with Bella and Eric and possibly learning more about her.

"So, this is a lot different than Phoenix, huh?" he asked, making up my mind for me. My stride stuttered slightly, and then I was in step with them, Bella in the center.

"Very," she replied.

"It doesn't rain much there, does it?"

"Three or four times a year."

He stuck his neck out to look at me past Bella. "How about you, Jordan? Where are you from?"

"Los Angeles," I told him, not caring to elaborate. After all, there was no way _he_ would turn into any sort of romantic interest.

We passed the cafeteria again, and were approaching the gym. Eric walked the both of us right to the door of building six, though it was clearly marked. "Well, good luck," he said as I opened the door for Bella. "Maybe we'll have some other classes together." He was addressing my pale friend, and sounded hopeful.

All she gave him was a vague smile, and then went inside.

During government, my eyes diverted from Bella to the rest of the female population. There wasn't too much variety…all pale-skinned, no one caring to do much with their hair (probably because of the constant humidity and rain), all more or less dressed conservatively. LA was the opposite, but I told myself to get over the city, though it would most likely be my favorite ever residing in.

Steadily, I gained little tidbits of info about Bella. There was some awkwardness with her father as a result of the temporary unfamiliarity, but it was being dissipated gradually because apparently Charlie 'was a man of few words.' Bella told me a little about her mother, Rene's, childish and eccentric nature. The way she spoke of her, Bella sounded like the parent. She was maternal.

Government ended, and we made our way to trigonometry. Mr. Varner stopped us at the door, and we were made to stand in the front of the class as everyone else took their seats. I didn't mind this, but Bella had morphed into a tomato once more. Her evasiveness towards attention was endearing.

After the students had settled, Mr. Varner looked expectantly at me. He had clean-cut sandy brown hair, some lines in his face, and beady eyes. There was a smile on his face that —while genuine— seemed engraved in a disconcerting way. He stood like he was important.

I cleared my throat, obliging, and introduced myself with charm. Instead of sitting down, I waited for Bella to introduce herself. This way, the attention was shared. She stammered, blushed, and tripped over her own boots on the way to her seat. I guess I didn't do her much of a favor, although I learned of her clumsy tendency.

A girl with dark, wildly curly hair sat on Bella's other side, and she chatted incessantly to her the entire period. I did nothing to halt this and listened hard for any clues in Bella's replies, but she didn't speak very much. This girl, Jessica (or so Mr. Varner called her when he reprimanded her for talking), prattled on and on without any end in sight. Bella's face contorted every few moments, but not in correspondence with Jessica's ramble about teachers and classes and math. Her mind was somewhere else.

The bell rang, announcing the time that Bella's and my schedule differed. She looked uneasily at me as Jessica beckoned to her, apparently having Spanish next as well. I gave her a sympathetic look, standing and gathering my things. I handed her a pencil she had forgotten to pack, our hands touching briefly.

Baby steps.

The languages building was the opposite way of the gymnasium, so I lingered at Mr. Varner's door, watching Jessica and Bella as they began to walk away. After a few moments, I turned on my heel and went on my way. Bella would survive.

It was a bit of a walk to the gym, seeing as it was located near the parking lot. It didn't seem long, though, because on the way I uncovered the hidden treasure of the school.

There were four of them —all very different in appearance— walking towards the gym at an angle perpendicular to mine. They were smiling and laughing, gliding with grace instead of marching like the rest of us. Their movement was too fluid, too easy…I had never seen someone move so effortlessly. Considering, they were also going faster, though that wasn't evident and I only noticed because another group of students had walked alongside them for a few strides.

Each of the four had skin paler than Bella's and their eyes were a golden hazel —an eye-color I'd never before seen. How did they share the same skin and eyes, when their body-types and hair-color contrasted so sharply? Why was each of their facial features straight, angular, and perfect?

The four bothered me so much that I couldn't look away.

There were two boys and two girls. Of the two boys, one was seriously big and barrel-chested, bearing cannon-like muscles that —quite honestly— I envied. He had a square face and a cheesy smile, with a mop of dark brown curls as hair.

This weight-lifting buff had an arm around a girl who was truly a _woman_. She was tall and held herself with a haughty air. Her figure was…holy shit. She was slender, she was curvy, she was…so unbelievably sexy. Gentle waves of blonde fell about her shoulders, reaching maybe the middle of her back. My mouth watered profusely.

Next to the presumed couple (the burly one's body angled towards the model in a slightly protective way, and that doubled with the arm) walked a boy with a very serious demeanor. His blonde curls resembled the beauty's ––maybe _those_ two were related. He was taller than the weight-lifter, leaner, although still with toned arms. His eyes caught my attention only because his were so transparently expressive. The boy was in anguish.

I blinked, bewildered. It isn't everyday you see pure anguish writhing in someone's eyes, especially while their face is so stoic. I followed his gaze, hoping to see what manifested such pain in—

Oh.

Well, the model was a model, and that was great, but this girl —it broke my heart how devastatingly, inhumanly beautiful she was. So pure, so innocent…she was so soft-looking. The lines of her face were gentle, her blackish-red hair wisped in a pixie haircut around her sprightly eyes. She made me feel as light as a feather —like I was floating…floating towards her….

Her eyebrows arched delicately, her nose sloped forward with elegance, the contours of her lips…. The model may have made my mouth water, but this girl, she… she made my mouth go dry.

I was unknowingly walking faster, hurrying towards her. _Look at me, sweetheart_ , I begged silently in my mind, shoving past those that crowded my path. _Look at me_ ….

As if she heard me, her angelic face turned towards mine. Those golden eyes fell on my own, sending fireworks off in my brain. Her eyes held such kindness, such intelligence. I needed to talk to her, I needed to see––

The four disappeared into the gym, and I caught a glimpse of bronze hair that must have belonged to the boy I didn't get a good look at. All of a sudden reality was thrust upon me again ––here I was, Jordan Castro, junior at a new school, heading for gym class. I exhaled violently, being apprised of the fact that I'd been holding my breath.

Even though I knew the four were now in the gymnasium, my eyes scanned the section of the campus I could see, still searching for her gentle, inquisitive face. At once my feet sped up once more ––after all, those four perfectly sculpted students were in my next class, and I wasn't about to be late.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Thank you to A Charmed Forever fan for your review. I really appreciate reviews, positive or constructive, as well as interacting with you guys through PMing. The more reviews I receive, the faster I'll update! With that, enjoy :)**_

 **TWO**

If you had asked me that January 18th what the gym looked like, how many students were in my class, or what my teacher's name was, I wouldn't have been able to tell you. My eyes drifted to her and stayed on her naturally, and if I looked away it was because of necessity, and not by any free will of my own.

Why hadn't any girl thus far (besides, perhaps, the tall blonde that was her friend) struck me as so…perfect, or angelic?

Coach Clapp, whose name I could've cared less about at the time, told me that I didn't have to dress out in uniform since it was my first day. I don't know what I told her, but I headed into the locker rooms anyway to go get changed.

I walked out of the locker room, a feeling of relief sweeping over me when I found her again. She was already dressed in our gym uniform ––an unflattering flat gray t-shirt with FORKS HIGH SCHOOL written across the bust in maroon, with the student opting for baggy maroon sweat pants or shiny maroon basketball shorts, she choosing the later and I the former.

So intoxicating. Even as I gazed at her it seemed those quirky gold eyes were getting bigger and bigger, closer and closer––

"Castro!" the teacher called, stopping me mid-step. I had been walking, walking towards her. She was in front of me. I froze.

Those golden eyes held quite an unusual cocktail of emotions. There was A LOT of guilt —where could that possibly be coming from? As well as reluctance, curiosity… did I see sexual attraction or was I flattering myself?

"Castro!" the coach called again, standing behind the beautiful stranger, looking peeved. "I say your name ONCE and you report to me, is that clear?"

"Yes, Coach, sorry, Coach," I said. I wanted to look at her but for all the money in the world I wouldn't have been able to part from those pair of gold eyes.

She wasn't placated. "Seeing as you decided to dress out anyhow, why don't you go for a climb up the ladder?" The twenty some odd other students began to "ohhh" and "ayyy" for reasons above my head.

"Yes Coach." Authority doesn't bother me, per se, but playing along strategically often offers better prospects than working against the system. What did I care if I climbed a rope or not? I wasn't looking to make enemies on the first day.

The rope felt coarse and thick in my hands. I looked over my shoulder at the four, all of whom were looking at me but also discreetly whispering to each other out of the corners of their mouths. I guess they were participating in the same ritual as the rest of Forks High School, but I felt acutely more judged by the queer quintuplet. Weird.

I jumped and grabbed the rope at the highest point I could reach, using one leg to swing the rope around my feet until it was coiled tightly enough to pull myself upward. One hand in front of the other, feet set, pull… first hand, second hand, use my legs, pull… Foot by foot the class drew further away and the arched roof grew closer. My hands started to chafe and burn, so I wrapped the rope around my legs again and took a break a little more than halfway up, wiping my hands on my shirt.

"You can do it!" the burly one shouted through cupped hands. The tall blonde one hit him in the arm, which resulted in him punching the other in the arm, which looked to hurt the second guy a lot more than the first.

I grabbed the rope and began again my ascent. The rest of the length took about two minutes to scale, with me stopping to rest again just before the top. When I reached the summit, I rang the bell, to which a chorus of cheers and claps rumbled from below. Both hands closed around the rope at the same place and I unwound my legs, descending by sheer upper body strength alone, clearly showing off for someone. I dismounted with a few yards left to go —the collected gasping— but I somersaulted into a semi-decent landing.

The rest of gym was spent running suicides in groups of four on the basketball court. I tried to catch pixie hair's attention the entire period with zero success. _What if my penetrating eyes freaked her out?_ I worried, biting my lip. Coach Clapp knew how to work out twenty-something teenagers, and I was soaked through with enough sweat that I actually showered in the locker rooms afterwards.

This choice bore consequences sadly. The gym was empty and all four of the pale sculptures were nowhere to be found. I reminded myself of a small consolation… it was lunchtime, which meant I got to eat and most likely see Bella again.

The walk grew more treacherous by the minute as winds picked up, transforming the raindrops into bullets. I made a mental note to go shopping for a new wardrobe as I joined many of my fellow classmates in sprinting to get out of the weather.

The cafeteria was indoors like the rest of the campus, thankfully. One wall rows of buffet trays lined up in three columns, breaking up the lunch line into more manageable queues. The rest of the linoleum housed around forty tables and eighty benches, fluorescent lights, trash cans and vending machines. My eyes scanned the sea of unfamiliar faces… looking for just one in particular…

Bella sat with six or seven students I didn't recognize —with the exception of Eric and Jessica— all the way to the left by the windows. She saw me in the same moment and her body visibly relaxed with relief. I smiled and waved at her as I got in line for the buffet. She gave a small smile and wave back.

Macaroni and cheese with slices of hot dog, along with corn and crackers, was on the menu today. I bobbed and weaved through my wet colleagues until I reached the table. "Would you mind scooting over bro?" I asked a blond, spiky-haired guy who was on Bella's right.

He looked over his shoulder and hesitated but eventually verbalized an assent and moved. I put the tray down and threaded my legs one by one under the table, swallowing hard before putting an arm around Bella and giving her a squeeze.

"How's your day been so far?" I asked her, her body tucked into my side.

Her face was flushed, probably from the affection, but she didn't move away from my touch. "It's been okay. Jessica had Spanish with me too. How's your day been?"

"Good. We just ran a lot in gym. There were these two boys and two girls in my class… all really pale, like inhumanly beautiful…"

"I think I know who you're talking about," she said, looking over to the left.

I followed my gaze and found the familiar, mysterious foursome, although now another bronze-haired boy who shared their peculiar characteristics sat with them.

"Who _are_ they?" Bella asked Jessica. Suddenly the newcomer looked at Jessica for just a fraction of a second, and then his dark eyes flickered to Bella's. He looked away quickly. His face had held nothing of interest —it was as if she'd called his name, and he looked up in involuntarily response, already having decided not to reply. Jessica giggled in embarrassment and joined Bella in looking at the table.

"That's Edward and Emmett Cullen, and Rosalie and Jasper Hale. The short one with reddish black hair is Alice Cullen; they all live together with Dr. Cullen and his wife," Jessica explained under her breath. I noticed that none of them were eating. Alice, an elegant name for the young woman I was infatuated with, got up and threw away a full tray of food, gliding back with supernatural grace.

"They are…very nice-looking," Bella commented. Conspicuous understatement.

"Yes!" Jessica agreed with another giggle. "They're all _together_ though — Emmett and Rosalie, and Jasper and Alice, I mean. And they _live_ together." Her voice held all the shock and condemnation of the small town, or so it seemed. It was an unusual arrangement, likely to cause gossip anywhere, I suppose.

"Which ones are the Cullens?" Bella continued. "They don't look related…"

"Oh, they're not. Dr. Cullen is really young, in his twenties or early thirties. They're all adopted. The Hales _are_ brother and sister, twins —the blondes— and they're foster children."

"They look a little old for foster children."

"They are now, Jasper and Rosalie are both 18, but they've been with Mrs. Cullen since they were 8. She's their aunt or something like that."

"That's really kind of nice —for them to take care of all those kids like that, when they're so young and everything."

"I guess so," Jessica conceded reluctantly. Why didn't she like the doctor and his wife? "I think that Mrs. Cullen can't have any kids, though," she added, as if that lessened their kindness.

"Have they always lived in Forks?" I asked, inserting myself into the conversation.

"No," Jessica responded in a voice that implied it should be obvious, even to a new arrival like me. "They just moved down two years ago from somewhere in Alaska."

"Fans of the cold," I observed.

"Which one is the boy with the reddish brown hair?" Bella was asking about the fifth Cullen, Edward by Jessica's explanation, who was staring at her with an expression somewhere between curiosity and frustration; it was a look of unmet expectation. She looked away again.

"That's Edward. He's gorgeous, of course, but don't waste your time. He doesn't date. Apparently none of the girls here are good-looking enough for him." Her tone was bitter; a case of the sour grapes. I wondered when Edward had turned her down.

As I finished my macaroni and hot dogs, Jessica, Eric, and Mike all competed for Bella's attention, all more successful at talking over each other than engaging my fellow new student in the exchange. Once my tray was empty, I asked Bella if she wanted to leave for Biology early so we wouldn't be late. She sighed with relief as she and Angela, another girl sitting with us who had the same class next, stood and followed me out of the cafeteria.

The journey was taken in a comfortable silence. Angela was quite shy, I deduced, and silence has never bothered me… it only makes it easier to concentrate on your other senses. I spent my extra resources drinking in every detail of Bella's aura and being. She was no Alice when it came to initial attraction, but I knew Bella best out of everyone in Forks so far, and I'd be lying if I didn't say Jessica's talk about Edward's dating habits had lit a fire under my ass. The balance of initiative and patience was a game equal parts exciting and exasperating. I placed my hand on the small of her back to guide her away from a group of rowdy guys not paying attention, and after they passed, I kept it there, and she let me.

When we entered the classroom, Angela went to sit at a black-topped lab table that was identical to the ones in every high school I'd ever attended. As Bella introduced herself to the instructor and got both of our slips signed, I noticed all the tables were filled but one, where the one and only Edward Cullen sat. My eyes narrowed as I scrutinized his blank expression as he stared out the window. We both had extremely nice hair, and around the same amount of muscle definition, though he was probably 4 inches taller than me. He'd be worthy competition if he did decide Bella was a step above his usual fair, enough so to make an exception to his dating policy.

Just as I resolved to go sit at the table before Bella could, Mr. Banner invited her to do so, and for me to find a chair by the back counter. I grudgingly took the textbook he proffered and followed Bella down the lane formed by the lab stations. Just as she sat down, Edward went rigid in his seat. His hand on his left leg was clenched into a fist, tendons standing out under his pale skin. He looked at her again, but this time, his face was hostile and furious. I also realized his eyes were at least 4 or 5 shades darker than his siblings, much closer to black than gold.

Mr. Banner cleared his throat and, as much as I didn't want to, I continued walking and found my makeshift seat. He began lecturing about cellular anatomy, turning off the lights to give a PowerPoint presentation. Even in the darkness I could see Edward leaning away from Bella, sitting on the very edge of his chair and averting his face like he smelled something bad. It was preposterous: Bella smelled like strawberries.

Twenty minutes passed, Bella keeping a curtain of hair in between her and her lab partner, and Edward remaining unmoving, his stiff position angled as far away from my fellow newcomer as possible. She chanced another glance at him, and he glared back without mercy, black eyes filled with revulsion. She flinched away from him, shrinking against her chair. That's it —enough was enough.

"Mr. Banner?" I projected, hand in the air. "Would you mind if I switched seats with Bella? My eyesight isn't the best and it's hard for me to see the slides back here."

"Very well," he said, unperturbed, pressing onward with whatever train of thought I interrupted. I gathered my things and walked to their lab station, helping Bella pick up the rest of her pencils and giving her a hand out of her chair. Her eyes screamed with gratitude as she brushed past me and headed toward the back of the classroom. I fearlessly took her seat, opening my textbook back up and otherwise getting resituated.

"Hello, Edward. My name is Jordan. Pleasure to meet you," I greeted him, meeting those black holes for eyes. All the residual antagonism was still there, but now with a sprinkle of confusion, and fresh anger directed at me. I smiled at him, unwilling to be the first one to look away. Admittedly, Edward probably rivaled me in the piercing stare category, but I wasn't going down without a fight.

A stroke of luck appeared as Mr. Banner asking Edward a question. He looked away, clearly irritated in needing to do so, and made eye contact with the teacher while giving the correct answer. His gaze found mine again, but I just smiled at him, and then returned to taking notes.

The bell rang another twenty minutes later. Edward was out the door before anyone else was even out of their seat. His behavior was strange in the most remarkable way. What was wrong with him? Was this how he normally acted? There was no way it had anything to do with me or Bella —he didn't know us from Adam and Eve— although his reactions did seem intense and somehow correlated with her….

"Aren't you Isabella Swan?" a male voice asked. I turned around, and behind Bella stood a baby-faced boy with blond hair carefully gelled into orderly spikes.

"Bella," she corrected with a smile.

"I'm Mike. I don't know if you remember me, we sat at the same table at lunch."

"Hi, Mike. Yeah, I remember."

"Do you need any help finding your next class?"

"I'm headed to the gym, actually. I think I can find it."

"That's my next class, too!" He was thrilled. I smirked despite myself: Edward might be competition, Mike not so much. I gave Bella a hug goodbye, definitely trying to establish a precedent, and then I was on my way to Spanish. However, the last thing I heard Mike say before they were out of earshot was something like 'Did you stab Edward Cullen with a pencil or what?'

So that wasn't Edward's usual behavior.


	3. Chapter 3

**_Thank you Charmed Forever Fan, LuvinYouWasRed, Jinx Rose, and both Guests who reviewed the second chapter. I know there were a few typos, you guys were kind not to point them out! Here's Chapter 3, let me know what you think :)_**

 **THREE**

My mom made steak and potatoes for dinner, neither a food I enjoy, so I ate trail mix and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. My parents asked the generic questions —did I like my teachers, did I need any school supplies, did I make any friends— and I answered them vaguely. I cleared the table and, when reminded, I passed over the class syllabuses I needed signed before taking the stairs two at a time and going to bed.

The next morning I dressed a lot more warmly than yesterday: a wife-beater, fleece undershirt, collared shirt, cardigan, and hoodie. Five layers. Forks, bring it on.

I drove a 2014 VXR scooter, top speed only being about 45 or 50mph, but that wasn't so much of an issue with the small town's windy roads, frequent stop signs, and wet conditions. My bike cut through the mist, leaving tiny droplets on my eyelashes, as I passed the time searching for familiar faces in the traffic. I noticed a rust-colored pickup truck rattle and cough as it came to a stop. The exhaust tasted like ash in my lungs. The driver looked in the rearview mirror…bright brown eyes staring back at me…those were Bella's. Not sure how to explain, but I saw _her_ , _who she was_ behind those soulful eyes. I wonder if she recognized me behind the helmet and shade visor.

I took a wrong turn at the next intersection and ended up pulling into the school parking lot just as the bell rang. Even by jogging I reached the classroom a couple minutes late and Mr. Mason was not happy. I grimaced apologetically and tried to find my seat as quietly as possible. Bella smiled at me as I sat down, tucking her hair behind her ear. It was fair to say she was growing on me.

The teacher led a discussion on the first chapters of Great Expectations. Just like yesterday, I spent the minutes watching Bella surreptitiously out of the corner of my eye. She caught me and I averted my gaze, the tips of my ears burning hot. I thought I heard her giggle. I smiled and shook my head.

"My dad was wondering what your parents' names are," Bella said as we walked from building three to building six. "He's chief of police so he appreciates knowing everyone in town, introducing himself personally and all that."

"Miriam and Quincy Castro," I said. "I think you mentioned your dad's name was Charlie. Then we have Rene and Phil back in Phoenix."

"Wow. I'm surprised you remembered all that. I'm pretty sure I only mentioned Charlie's name once."

"You did," I said, winking at her.

Mr. Jefferson had Mike, the spiky-haired blond boy from yesterday, collect the syllabuses. Predictably, the history curriculum picked up around where I left off in LA, focusing on Native American culture and traditions. I ripped a sheet out of my spiral notebook and scrawled 'Can I have you number? You know, for homework and things' and slid it over to her desk.

I literally held my breath as she read it…put her pencil to the paper…and before I knew it the square was back on my textbook. I hissed the exhale through my teeth, bracing myself, before unfolding it and reading in small neat penmanship '(520) 887- 4469'. Score one for the boys back home!

Today I had a hoodie to offer Bella. She adamantly refused, but I backed her up against the wall, her eyes looking around frantically, afraid of the judgement of passersby. "Put your hands up," I ordered her in a low voice. She bit her lip, making my cock twitch, before obeying me and reaching her hands toward the overhang. I worked the hoodie over my head and turned the sleeves right side out before sliding the sweater over her arms. "Good girl," I murmured, unsure if she heard or not.

A pop quiz awaited everyone's arrival to Mr. Varner's 3rd period trigonometry, each student groaning as they appeared in the doorway and discovered the news. Soon a headache pounded behind my eyes, not making the math any easier. Part of me was tempted to steal a glance at Bella's answers, but I'm not one to rely on other's mental acuity. As we passed the quizzes to the front of the room Bella asked how I thought I did.

"Atrociously," I replied, "and you?"

"Not too poorly, hopefully."

The tests were redistributed, our fellow classmates entrusted with the responsibility of grading them. I wielded a red pen and began to mark appropriately. About halfway through I noticed that somehow it was Bella's paper that found its way into my hands. I left the rest of her answers untouched, circled the 85% at the top, and wrote 'You look beautiful today —Your Secret Admirer' on the bottom. Again, the quizzes were collected, and then given back to the original owners.

I earned a 64%, flipping the paper over quickly and hoping Bella wouldn't ask what I scored. She smiled when she saw her grade, and it remained as she read what was on the bottom, though her brow furrowed. "Secret admirer?" she repeated, looking around the room. "I wonder who that could be."

"Probably that Mike kid. He follows you around like a golden retriever."

"He's not in this class, Jordan."

"Oh. Whoops."

My least favorite part of the day arrived: where Bella and I's scheduled diverged. I helped her gather her things, hugged her tightly, and agreed to meet up at lunch.

Today I noticed Emmett Cullen and Jasper Hale in the locker room… I'm not sure how I managed to not yesterday. Emmett's body looked like it was carved out of marble, ribbons of abdominal muscles stacked on top of one another. Jasper boasted around the same amount of muscularity as I did. I tailed them out of the locker rooms, extremely eager to meet their sister.

I always considered slow motion in romance movies to be corny as hell, but that was because I didn't realize it was a real-life phenomenon that could actually happen. Time froze as my eyes reunited with hers.

Relief washed through my body, as if I'd been in excruciating pain before and Alice's presence was only salve. With each step closer to her, more and more of reality fell away. Too late I realized I didn't know what to say to her. She was right in front of me, standing two inches shy of 5 feet. Those eyes cradled mine. She smiled.

"Hi," she chirped in a sing-song voice, "I'm Alice."

"Hello," I breathed. I couldn't have looked away for all the money in the world.

"You're Jordan Castro, right?"

"That's me," I said with a smile.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you. This is Emmett and Rosalie, and my boyfriend Jasper." Her three siblings appeared behind her… Alice monopolized my attention to such an extent that they may have been standing there all the while.

My heart plummeted. Of course, Jessica mentioned that yesterday, curse my selective memory. My eyes rolled over the four, their pale skin and golden eyes raising questions in my mind again. Emmett came off jovial enough, while Rosalie had a case of resting bitch face, and Jasper's features were carefully controlled. He couldn't hide the grief in his eyes, though. What was causing the guy so much pain?

"Good to meet you, man," Emmett said, offering me his bear-like hand. I could feel my bones rubbing together uncomfortably as he shook it, something I may have realized would happen before had I thought about it. "You demolished that rope climb yesterday. Very impressive."

"Thanks. I'm sure you could've been up and down that rope in 10 seconds flat."

"Probably," he said, grinning, with Alice, Jasper, and even Rosalie breaking a smile, as if the four of them were in on some sort of joke that soared over my head. Coach Clapp called everyone together and volunteered Jasper to lead the congregation in stretching. I watched Alice out of the corner of my eye, and while I couldn't be certain, part of me thought she was watching me too.

"OK boys and girls, today we're gonna be running laps around the basketball court. You can either jog the whole time, or sprint a lap and then walk a lap." She blew the whistle and the students begrudgingly took off.

For the first half of class I ran by myself, always aware of where the Cullens were, relishing Alice and Rosalie's bodies bouncing as they ran. Around the halfway point of class, the foursome and I ended up more or less in step together, all of us on a walking lap. "New kid alert," I heard Rosalie sneer under her breath. What a cunt.

"So, how do you like Forks High School so far?" Alice asked me cheerily.

"It's different from what I'm used to. I moved here from Los Angeles so my last high school was a LOT bigger."

"Wow, you can say that again," she said with a laugh. "Do you like the rain?"

"Yes, I love the rain. I couldn't imagine living here if you didn't."

"Where do you live?" Sheesh, with the questions, I needed to start asking some.

"I live at the base of the mountain, right at the edge of the forest. And you?"

"We live kinda deep into the forest. The backroad to get there is near the base of the mountain, actually." She smiled at me. "We might be neighbors."

"What's your class schedule?"

"Trig, French, biology, this class of course, government, and then English. You?"

"English, government, trigonometry, this class, biology, then Spanish."

Coach Clapp blew her whistle and all of us broke into a sprint, Emmett and Jasper racing each other and speeding ahead. Alice's eyes glinted at me mischievously and she picked up her pace. I smirked and copied her… she sped up again… I matched pace. For how tiny she was, those short legs moved fast, and before long we lapped some of the slower students. She cranked up the speed once more and I was running at my full throttle capacity. We turned the corner and the beginning of the bleachers was coming up, the landmark we'd began our contest next to. I pushed myself as hard as I could, pumping my arms and lifting my knees, but Alice pulled ahead and beat me by almost a full second.

I doubled over, hands on knees, panting and sweating profusely. Her musical laugh danced above the din of students as the bell rang and everyone began walking toward the respective locker rooms. "You're fast," I said in between gasps for air.

"So are you," she flirted, "just not as fast as me."

I skipped the shower but toweled off all the same. Bella and her gaggle of friends chose the same table as yesterday. I wormed my way in between porcupine head and my romantic interest same as yesterday. On the menu today: Vietnamese sausages with rice and broccoli.

"He's not here today," Bella said, mostly to herself.

I followed her stare and arrived at the Cullen table, minus Edward, or 'The Hair' as Jessica named him, which I thought was hilarious. Surprisingly I caught Alice looking at me, though she looked away so quickly I found myself second guessing if she'd ever been looking this way at all. Again, I noticed the family playing with their food, never actually lifting a bite to their mouths. What could that possibly be about?

The conversation transitioned to an upcoming beach trip Mike was trying to organize. Half of the group RSVP'd so far, and Mike blinked at us expectantly. Bella murmured something vague, and I said I'd think about it, but I was really thinking about what was on Bella's mind. Unfortunately I was pretty sure I knew the answer.

The bell rang and I offered to carry Bella's backpack on the way to Biology. She refused but I slung it over my shoulder anyway and ran when she tried to snatch it back. We continued the game until we reached her desk, and after she sat down I made her ask nicely before I gave her backpack back.

I lingered around her desk until the second bell rang, ready to confront Edward or take her seat, whatever the situation called for. But he and his gelled bronze hair never showed up. I squeezed Bella's shoulder before getting my things and returning to my provisional lab station. Edward didn't surface for the duration of the period.

Spanish was uneventful, same as yesterday, and I managed not to get lost on my way home. I checked in with my parents, we exchanged highlights of our days, and I decided I wanted to go on a scooter ride while the weather stayed temperate. I forsook my helmet as I was just going to explore the backroad Alice told me about. It took fifteen minutes to find it, but as soon as I did I was deeply intrigued. The dirt road cut through the evergreen trees and disappeared around a bend at what I estimated was a quarter mile away. I cruised at around 20mph, not wanting the mud to splatter on the paint. After the bend came curls that doubled back on each other, scaling the first section of the mountain. A clearing occupied only by tall grass spanned one or two square miles, the pathway proving the only interruption of the swaying green stocks. Just three minutes later, I arrived at a dome carved out by tree branches, zigzagging and threading together to form a natural ceiling. I deployed the kickstand as I got out to look around. A large, graceful house sprawled out before me, rectangular and well-proportioned, three stories with the southern wall made almost entirely of glass. I wanted to walk around and explore, but at the same time I'd be mortified if Alice caught me stalking around like…well, a stalker.

I kicked the kickstand back into place and sped off, in home in time for dinner. Tonight lasagna was served —a personal favorite. My parents asked more about school and I tried to elaborate as much as possible, pushing myself, attempting to grow as an individual. I had homework for the first time: reading for English, notes for government, problems for trig, notes for biology, and vocabulary for Spanish. I fell asleep across my Spanish textbook…the night a dreamless void.

The next morning I left early to ensure I wouldn't be late even if I got lost, which I did, taking the identical wrong turn as yesterday. However, I found my way back five minutes faster than the day previous, and pulled into a parking spot just as Bella's old truck did the same. She smiled self-consciously as our eyes met, tucking her hair behind her ear and unfastening her seat belt. I opened the door. "Good morning."

"Good morning, Jordan," she said, activating her umbrella before stepping out into the rain. She shielded us both as we scampered from the parking lot onto campus. "I was hoping you'd text me last night, I could've really used help on the trig homework."

Fuck! I tried to laugh off my disappointment and recover quickly. "I'm sorry about that, Bella. I've never been one to text on the same day I get the number…seems a little too eager to me."

"Are you calling me eager?" she teased with a hint of sharpness in her tone.

"I wouldn't blame you if you were."

She rolled her eyes as we crossed the threshold of Mr. Mason's English classroom. The period was spent in another group discussion of the next handful of Great Expectations' chapters. Bella used the time to copy my trig homework. I almost made a quip about requiring sexual favors in exchange, but her feathers were still ruffled from my eagerness joke, so I held my tongue.

Eric Yorkie, greasy chess club boy from the first day, struck up a conversation with Bella as we walked from building three to building six after class. About halfway to our destination Eric halted mid-sentence and I looked up to see why. Mike Newton, a.k.a. the golden retriever, was headed straight for us.

"Hi Bella!" he greeted enthusiastically. "Jordan. How're your Thursdays going?"

What a question. "Brilliantly, and yours?"

"It's…good," he replied, caught off-guard by my gusto. "Hey, Bella, have you put anymore thought into coming to La Push with us? Weren't you childhood friends with —what's his name— Jacob Black? He lives on the reservation."

A thoughtful expression passed across Bella's features. "Jake? It has been awhile since I've seen him," she said, more to herself than anyone else. Eric wordlessly left the group, visibly distraught, and I almost felt bad for him. But hell, between him, Mike, Edward, and whoever this Jacob kid was, there was no shortage of competition for Isabella Swan's attention and affection. As they say: if you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen.

"So is that a yes?" he pressed, pursuing Bella to her desk.

I lingered there as well, feeling protective in response to Mike's insistence. "She told you she'd think about it, right?" I said, maintaining eye contact with him but trying to keep the hardness out of my voice. "Why don't you take a seat and actually give her a few days to do so?" He stuck his tongue in his cheek, clearly debating on whether or not to say something in retort, but my eyes intimidated him in the end, and he finally retreated to his desk. I hurried to my seat before Bella could reproach me —I had a feeling one of her personality traits was something along the lines of independent, and she wasn't going to be happy about me standing up for her. I silently reprimanded myself again for my possessiveness. Bella wasn't my girlfriend yet. I wasn't even sure if we were friends.

Mr. Jefferson traveled up and down the lanes of desks, checking that everyone did the notes the night before. I chanced a glance at Bella, but she wasn't looking in my direction. I prayed, fingers crossed, that she wasn't angry with me.

At the end of class Mike stopped Bella and I at the doorway. "Look, I just wanted to say I'm sorry, to both of you. I'm not trying to be pushy, it'll just be our first beach trip of the New Year, and everyone is excited to get to know you better and spend some time with you," Mike said. "You too, Jordan."

"Its fine, Mike, really. I'll tell you as soon as I know if I can go, okay?"

"Don't worry about it, man," I told him, slapping his hand and pounding his knuckles. "Just relax, you know? I get that Bella and I are the new kids, kind of a commodity right now, but there will be plenty of time to hang out with us both."

"Right. Okay, thanks. I'll catch you guys later, I guess."

Mike turned and headed toward whatever his next period was. I turned to Bella.

"Are you mad?"

She sighed as she activated her umbrella and we left the shelter that was the awning of building six. "Mike's feelings don't seem to be hurt, so I guess not. You didn't have to be so mean to him."

"I wasn't trying to be mean," I said honestly. "His persistence is annoying, though, am I right?"

"You're right," she admitted, "but I can speak up for myself, Jordan."

I withdrew like the word stung me. To her my name in her voice with displeasure was maddening. I can't stand when people I care about are upset with me. I needed to make it up to her. "Of course you can. I'm sorry, Bella." She looked up at me, clearly gauging my sincerity, and must have been satisfied because she switched her umbrella to the other hand to give me a one-armed hug.

"I forgive you."


	4. Chapter 4

**_Thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited and/or followed this story! You guys are my motivation to keep going :) This chapter is the longest so far so it might take me a bit to update. The more reviews, the quicker I write! Thanks everybody 3_**

 **FOUR**

I was ready to sit by Bella again in Biology, although I didn't get the excuse to, as Edward never showed. In fact, he didn't show up the rest of the week, which I was perfectly fine with. Bloke could've died for all I cared. Unfortunately, Bella appeared to feel dissimilarly. Watching her cast sad eyes over to the Cullen table, only to find it minus her favorite member, was intensely frustrating. What was so interesting about him, anyway, besides the mysterious skin color and eye color and familial arrangement? I'd write it off as Bella liking the bad-boy type if she hadn't told me off for how I spoke to Mike. Maybe she just liked it when guys were mean to _her_.

We texted on and off over the weekend, mostly about homework, though I took care to ask how she slept, how things were going with Charlie, things of that nature. My parents and I spent Saturday exploring Forks, poking our heads in the small businesses that lined the modest main street, including Newton's Olympic Outfitters, where I stumbled upon Mike Newton behind the counter. He welcomed my family with genuine amiability, slapping my hand and punching my knuckles, even giving my dad %15 off a hiking backpack. The kid did me a lot of favors whether he realized it or not: my parents always worried about me making friends because of how often we move. Now my mom could finally get a full night's sleep.

People greeted me in the parking lot Monday morning. I didn't know all their names, but I waved back and smiled at everyone, knowing full well I wasn't doing a great job of socializing outside of Bella and maybe Alice and Mike. It was the coldest it'd been since I relocated to Forks, and cloudy, but no sign of rain yet. Wind bit at my cheeks and nose.

The bell rang just as I crossed the threshold into my English classroom. I smiled at Mr. Mason apologetically, walking down the aisle and squeezing Bella's shoulder as I sat down at my desk. The teacher designated the entire period as silent reading time because apparently half the class was behind where we were supposed to be in the book. I flipped through the familiar pages, bored. I peeked at Bella and determined she was doing the same thing. After Mr. Mason was preoccupied I snuck out a spiral, tore myself a sheet, and began scribbling a note to the classmate beside me.

'How was your weekend?' I asked, flicking the square onto her copy of Great Expectations.

'Uneventful, I just went to the library. What about you?'

'Walked around Forks with my parents. Stopped by Mike's family's shop.'

'Oh yeah I saw him working there Saturday. The library is nothing special, by the way. I need to make a trip up to Seattle or Olympia and get a library card somewhere up there.'

'Guess I'm not surprised. Thanks for the heads up. Do you mind if I come along? My brain will explode if my reading is restricted to Mr. Mason's selections of the literary classics.'

'That was an invitation you dork.'

"Um no it absolutely wasn't. I'd poll everybody at our lunch table if I didn't know at least one of them would try to invite themselves along.'

She smiled and shook her head as the three chimes sounded which signaled the end of English. When we walked out of class, the air was full of swirling bits of white. The little cotton fluffs were building up along the sidewalk and awnings. People shouted excitedly at each other across the quad.

"Wow," Mike said. "It's snowing."

"Ew," Bella said.

He looked surprised. "You don't like snow?"

"No. That means it's too cold for rain. Besides, I thought it was supposed to come down in flakes —you know, each one unique and all that. These just look like the ends of Q-tips." I snorted at her comparison.

"Haven't you ever seen snow before?" he asked incredulously.

"Sure I have." She paused. "On TV."

Mike and I laughed before a big, squishy ball of dripping snow smacked the back of his head and shut him up. The three of us turned to see where it came from. "Ten bucks it was Yorkie," I said, watching Eric speed walk away with his back toward us.

"That's the wrong direction for his next class," Bella agreed. Mike bent over and began scraping together a pile of the white mush. "I'll see you at lunch, okay, Mike? Once people start throwing wet stuff, I go inside." Mike just nodded, his eyes trained on Eric's retreating figure. I wavered for a moment, weighing spending time with Bella versus the savage satisfaction of a snowball fight. In the end my testosterone got the best of me and I formed a snowball for each hand, taking off after Eric and Mike.

I was dripping with ice water by the time I entered Mr. Jefferson's classroom. Bella nearly screamed when I jokingly leaned in for a hug, fending me off by whacking me with her binder. Mr. Jefferson told us to settle down —bringing back Bella's tomato character from week one— and I apologized and sat down, shaking out my hair like a dog away from Bella and unfortunately all over some kid I didn't know.

"What the fuck, bro?" demanded the black guy with a gap in between his front teeth.

"I'm sorry, man, I wasn't thinking, that was inconsiderate. What's your name, bro?"

"Tyler Crowley," he said, his expression on the fence about me.

I extended my hand. "Jordan Castro, my friend. I apologize again. If I was old enough I'd offer to buy you a beer." He cracked a smile, grabbed my hand in the next moment, and shook it well without breaking my bones like Emmett Cullen.

Mr. Jefferson designed a partner activity making flash cards of the vocabulary terms for the chapter. I turned to ask Bella but somehow Mike beat me to it, so I switched sides and asked Tyler, who somewhat to my surprise said yes. For the first few minutes we worked in relative silence, only grunting when swapping highlighters. However, after a while Tyler's excitable chatter and Bella's growing responses became too grating, so I struck up a conversation.

"Have you lived here your whole life, Tyler?" I asked, not looking up from the work.

"Born and raised," he said. "Where are you from?"

"Los Angeles." I almost stopped there, but Tyler and Bella were laughing together, so I pressed on. "My parents travel around the U.S. and write travel books, take photography they sell to nature magazines and school textbooks, and explore all the major cities."

He glanced up, nodding, impressed. "Do you know how long you'll be in Forks?"

 _Ah…the taboo subject,_ I thought sardonically. It's an obvious question for oneself and others to ask anyone with my family's lifestyle. Most of the time it was after all the tourist destinations of the state were experienced, or a lucrative opportunity was presented elsewhere, or one of my parents read a book or watched a movie that gives them the travel bug for some place specific. Forks was a unique choice in that it was small town, a move inspired jointly by my dad reading an article about the benefits of small town living and my mom finishing her assignment teaching a photography class at Santa Monica Community College. "I'm concerned it may be one of my shorter stays because there's, you know, _less_ of everything. I don't mean any offense," I amended quickly, "it's just that I've lived in Manhattan and Vegas and San Francisco… I mean, here's to hoping small town charm will enrapture my parents longer than fast-paced city life, right?"

"Yeah, here's to hoping," Tyler said absently. I wondered if he'd even been listening. We maintained the small talk the rest of the time and at the end voted that I'd take care of the cards until we could finish them during class tomorrow. We slapped hands and bumped fists as he slung his backpack over his shoulder and departed. I wasn't sure if I made a new friend, but I succeeded in ducking an enemy.

When we stepped back outside, mush balls were flying everywhere. Bella kept her binder in her hands, ready to use it as a shield in the blink of an eye, so tense and alert I couldn't help but chuckle. "Don't you dare even think about it, Jordan Castro," she warned in our first few steps, and while I wanted to test my bad boy theory, I voted with preserving my life instead.

Nothing noteworthy occurred in trigonometry, except for Bella initiating a hug afterwards as she went to Spanish and I to gym. This resulted in a semi-permanent grin smeared across my face as I changed out in the locker room and began to stretch on the court.

Coach Clapp insisted Jasper did such a great job leading us yesterday that he simply must do it again today. I mirrored his motions, checking his eyes for his signature suffering. Bingo. I looked away; being somewhat of an empathetic person, it hurt my heart how raw the emotion was. My eyes found Alice, whether by chance or instinct, and in her eyes I saw the persisting guilt. Somewhere in the back of my mind I wondered if the sentiments were connected.

Today, the agenda consisted of a relay race in five parts, lucky me. I strategically stood next to the Cullens and as Coach segregated teams, she assigned us all together. "How fast is he, Alice?" Emmett asked, jumping in place, warming up presumably.

She glanced at me up and down, sizing me up, causing arousal to flicker below my hips. "Sure, he's fast, but not as fast as us," she said, and the four laughed together. _What the hell?_ I asked myself. _Does having pale ass skin and golden eyes somehow make you run faster, too?_ I laughed a little, at my joke not theirs, and started to jump in place like Emmett to warm up.

"What leg do you guys want me to take?" I asked.

"The first one," Rosalie said quickly. "That way we'll have plenty of time to catch up."

"Haha, you're as quick as I whip!" I exclaimed, stretching my quads. "Let's see if you run as quick as you are to insult."

She turned her nose up at me. "I want the last leg. That way you can see firsthand how fast I am."

"Rosalie…" her blond brother began with a cautionary tone.

"I wanted the last leg!" Emmett demanded.

"Shut up, lover," she said curtly, loping gracefully to her chosen station. Alice selected to go after me, followed by Jasper, then Emmett, and ending of course with primadonna diva. The other teams took a little bit longer to organize, and I spent the time spying on Alice, who stood with her weight on her left, hands folded on her hip. Adorable. She caught me staring at her but brazenly I didn't look away. A smile played on her lips, but I still saw a glint of guilt she was unable to mask in her eyes. _Where the fuck is that coming from?!_ I fumed internally.

Coach Clapp blew her whistle. Fuck, I had NOT been paying attention. I ducked my head and thrust my arms back and forth, my feet moving so fast underneath me that I almost ran myself into the ground and stumbled. I recovered as the rest of the first wave rounded the corner, overtaking the last place runner…and the next…before battling neck and neck with 3rd place during our 2nd turn. I tore my gaze from him to focus on Alice —and I felt my heartrate spike— she definitely gifted me with an extra dose of adrenaline by her delicate face alone. We were seconds behind first when I passed the baton to my crush, our hands grazing…

Goosebumps sprouted over my entire body, mind, and soul. A thrilling chill slowed my heartrate right back down, and time was in slow motion as her ass in those gym shorts bounced away from me. Her hand felt like she'd been holding it under a foot of snow for the past hour, when in reality we'd been in the gym for at least ten or fifteen minutes, and it wasn't altogether that cold in here. "Get out of the way!" someone yelled, knocking me before giving me a chance to move by myself. Normally I might have looked around angrily to see who it was and shove them back, but a moment later Alice and the rest of the 2nd wave ran by, my head pivoting as they passed. She was running a significant fraction slower than in our head-to-head race yesterday. Why could that be? The stick transferred from the pixie to the blond, and Jasper did something similar, picking a pace I was pretty sure was slower than what I witnessed when he and Emmett sprinted, and maintained it for the span of his run. I mean, I guess we were in first place now, but why were they holding back, especially after giving me so much shit? Emmett seemed a bit more competitive on his run, a handful of lengths ahead of second as he exchanged the baton with his girlfriend, who looked pretty pissed for our being in first place. Her annoyed expression stayed on her mug as she pranced through the finish line, her effort somewhere between genuine and restrained, but her pace quicker than anyone else in the entire class. We won by several lengths and Coach Clapp immediately approached Rosalie about joining the track team. The supermodel brushed her off, commenting something to the effect that sports are for lesbians, before ambling over to her bodybuilder boyfriend and kissing him.

Coach Clapp organized the rest of the teams —apparently they were going to relay until there were only two teams left, and as your team won, the coach dismissed the group early. As she announced this, she waved a hand at the five of us, and Emmett and Jasper took off for the locker rooms straight away, hollering about a snowball fight. Rosalie rolled her eyes, folded her arms, and strode with a gait that screamed of her own importance as she disappeared into the women's wing. That left Alice and I, those bright gold eyes sparking at me from her 4'10" height. I smiled at her, half waiting for her to say something. She smiled back.

"Does a snowball fight sound fun to you?" I asked. After demolishing Eric and Mike earlier in the day, the idea of giving Emmett and Jasper the same treatment was tantalizing.

"Maybe," she said, most likely seeing the bloodthirst in my eyes. "Or we could walk really slowly toward the cafeteria and get to know each other." Any excitement for a snow ball fight melted at the chance of one-on-one time with, who was in my opinion, the most attractive member of the Cullen family. We changed in our respective locker rooms before meeting underneath the awning outside. Jasper and Emmett were already in the thick of things, each with a wall of snow to hide behind and a stockpile of ammo to use. I suggested we sit on a bench to watch the brothers and the snowfall; Alice agreed. I shielded my arm with my jacket and cleared the bench of mush for us to sit.

Time passed so strangely when I was in the presence of the pixie-haired girl. All at once, it seemed snowflakes were suspended in mid-air, the only movement her soft lips and the long lashes of her blinking eyes. Yet at the same time, the extra twenty minutes of recreation we were afforded was spent all too quickly. I asked about her family and listened again to the story Jessica told, minus the disapproving tone of voice and scandalous implications. Though it was a family woven together by adoption, I could tell Alice loved all her siblings dearly without discretion. It was an appropriate enough segue as any to ask about what was really on my mind.

"So, tell me about you and Jasper."

She smiled at his name, but it almost seemed a sad smile. The blond peeked over from his barricade as if he could sense the shift in conversation. Emmett took advantage of the distraction and landed a snowball straight to his face, knocking him on his ass. Alice and I laughed together mutedly.

"Well, he and Rosalie joined our family when they were eight. Of course, growing up, it was like living with two of your cousins, not altogether different from my relationships with Emmett and Edward, but still with a layer of unspoken distance that didn't exist with my other siblings. When I turned 16, I was actually grateful for it, because it was around that time that Jasper and I began speaking candidly about our non-platonic feelings toward each other, and had that degree of distance not existed, well I suppose nothing would've ever happened because we would've related like brother and sister. But it was always different for Jasper and I. Rosalie and Emmett too."

I did my best to listen without judgement, but even to someone as worldly and traveled as me, the arrangement was unusual and, for myself, unrelatable. However, no true incest was occurring, and if all the individuals involved were happy and consenting, then it was fine by me. "So you and Jasper have been dating for, what, about a year?"

"Yes, our anniversary is on Valentine's Day," she said, something off in her tone.

"How've things been recently? If you don't mind me asking," I added quickly. "High school relationships can be drama enough as it is, I imagine living with someone would only add to the difficulty."

She was quiet for a time, watching him. "Do you mind if we start walking to the cafeteria? I'm getting a little cold."

"No problem," I said, shrugging out of my jacket and putting the layer underneath around her shoulders, so she wouldn't have to deal with the wet sleeve. Unlike Bella she did not protest and instead pulled it around her frame, hugging herself. For a few paces all that could be heard was ice crunching underfoot. I didn't change the subject in the hopes that I might still get an answer.

The double doors to the cafeteria were unlocked, but it was empty inside, even of the kitchen workers and trays of food. My sneakers squeaked along the linoleum as we passed the table Bella and I sat at, continuing until we reached the Cullens' usual spot.

"Recently, there have been a lot of changes," she said as she lowered herself onto the bench opposite me. A pause, her eyes lost out the window, thinking. "He didn't do anything wrong. He's always so lovely to me." Her eyes met mine. Guilt. "It's just… people talk about when you know, you _know_ , right? Well, I thought I knew, but now… it's like once that seed of doubt is planted, once the rays of hope are shining from the other horizon… what are you supposed to do? Break a good man's heart?"

She buried her face in her hands and in the blink of an eye I was at her side, arms around her shoulders. "Don't cry, Alice," I said, squeezing her, trying to ease the slight shaking of her body. "Time changes things. You don't have to decide anything today. Everything will be alright."

Just then the double doors burst ajar. Two silhouettes stood in the opening, one barrel-chested and the other taller and leaner, recognizably Emmett and Jasper. Jasper disappeared as quickly as he appeared, causing a sob to escape Alice as she buried her face back in her hands. Emmett shoved his way toward us, his features taut. I stood but kept a hand on Alice. I did not want to fight her brother, but I wasn't going to leave her unless she wanted me to, either. "Just go, Jordan," she whimpered, leaning into Emmett's embrace as he sat on the other side of her. I let my hand slip from her shoulder as I obliged, waiting outside the double doors until the bell rang and the entirety of Forks High School converged for the cover of the cafeteria.

"Hey you," Bella greeted as she found me leaning against the building. "Did gym get out early?"

"We're running relay races today. As you win, you get the rest of the period free."

She moaned at the mention of running. I laughed, holding the door open for her as we headed inside. Mike and Jessica filed behind us in line, talking animatedly about the perpetual snow fight going on outside. Sharing the same thought, Bella and I glanced at the Cullen table, and I felt her body freeze beside me. The Hair was back, making five people at their exclusive table, all of them laughing and talking playfully. There was no hint of awkwardness between Alice and Jasper, who held hands in between their trays. To anyone else, it appeared they were enjoying the snow day like regular residents of Forks, only looking more like a scene from a movie than the rest of us. That was just it, though. In that moment, it felt like a table of actors.

I blinked, lost in my own thoughts as Jessica and Mike led Bella and me to our normal seats. Bella at least had the wherewithal to grab a soda. I sat emptyhanded, drumming my fingers against the tabletop, choosing to look at Bella instead of Alice. She stuck her tongue out at me when she noticed. I winked. She rolled her eyes, smiling. Eric and Mike started talking over each other about our match earlier in the day, and I couldn't help but jump in, as they were getting the chronology of the events all wrong. Five minutes later, when tempers had cooled again, I checked back in with Bella, only to find her attention on the table in the corner, centered on one individual in particular. That was when I noticed something different about him. His skin was less pale, I decided —flushed from the snow maybe— and the circles under his eyes much less noticeable. _That's it_ , I realized with a click. _His eyes. Somehow they're gold now._

"Bella, what are you staring at?" Jessica intruded. At that precise moment Edward's face turned in our direction. Bella dropped her head but I did nothing of the sort, analyzing his features. He didn't look harsh or hostile like he had the last time I'd seen him. He looked merely curious again, unsatisfied in some way as he— "Edward is staring at you," Jessica giggled.

"He doesn't look angry, does he?" she asked.

"No," she said, confused by the question. "Should he be?"

"I don't think he likes me," she confided. For a moment nausea colored her cheeks and she rested her head on her arm.

"The Cullens don't like anybody…well, they don't notice anybody enough to like them. But he's still staring at you."

"Stop looking at him!" she hissed. Jessica snickered but looked away.

Mike interjected then —he was planning an epic battle of the blizzard in the parking lot after school and wanted us to join. Jessica agreed enthusiastically, leaving little doubt that she would be up for anything he suggested. I RSVP'd as well, hoping a snow ball fight would distract me from the cognitive dissonance I was experiencing. Bella kept silent.

At the conclusion of the lunch hour Bella ushered me out the door —whispering something about Mike being a popular target for snowball snipers— but when we went to the door, everyone besides her groaned in unison. It was raining, washing all traces of the snow away in clear, icy ribbons down the side of the walkway. My disappointment abated a little at the sight of Bella's secret smile underneath her hood. As long as she was happy.

Mike maintained a string of complaints all the way to building four.

Once inside the classroom, I observed Bella's counter was still empty. A civil war raged internally, possessiveness versus respect for her independence. We drew closer and in the split instant I let her decide. She sat in her seat and began to get out her things, while I dithered in the aisle, eyes darting from the seat next to her to my chair in the back. "At lunch, he didn't look as…unfriendly as he did last week," she said without looking up, supposing it was obvious we were speaking about Edward. "I think I'll give him another chance, introduce myself, and be cordial. But if he starts being nasty like before, feel free to step in, okay?"

"Okay," I said. "Will you do me a favor, then?"

"Sure, what is it?"

I stooped to give her a one-armed hug just as the fifth Cullen crossed the threshold. "Ask Edward if he's wearing contact lens." I held her for three or four seconds, until his ass was in his chair, before releasing her and retiring to my alcove at the back of the classroom.

Mr. Banner distributed one microscope and box of slides to each table, giving me a set of my own. The slides were out of order, he explained. Working as partners, everyone needed to separate the slides of onion root tip cells into the phases of mitosis they represented and label them accordingly, without the help of our books. In twenty minutes, he would be coming around to see who had it right. "Get started," he commanded.

"Ladies first, partner?" The Hair asked, crooked smile on his mug. "My name is Edward Cullen, by the way. I didn't get a chance to introduce myself last week. You must be Bella Swan."

"H-How do you know my name?" she stammered, virtually star struck.

He laughed a soft, musical laugh. "Oh, I think everyone knows your name."

"No," she persisted, "I meant, why did you call me Bella?"

His brow furrowed with confusion. "Do you prefer Isabella?"

"No, I like Bella," she said. "But I think Charlie — I mean my dad — must call me Isabella behind my back — that's what everyone here seems to know me as."

"Oh." He let it drop. "Well, I could start, if you wish."

"No, I'll go ahead," she said, flushing.

I turned my attention to the task at hand, thankful that being without a lab partner made it easier to eavesdrop. Prophase, anaphase, interphase, prophase, interphase, telophase, anaphase, telophase. The worksheet took ten minutes at most to finish. Afterwards I drifted to my failsafe hobby, people-watching… Edward and Bella were nearly done…Mike and his partner were comparing two slides again and again… and another group had their book open underneath the table. Mr. Banner began making the rounds. He started with me, probably curious as to why I was no longer working.

"Have you done this lab before?" he asked.

A laugh tripped over my lips before I could stop it. "Many times. With onion root, whitefish blastula, among other fast-dividing cells."

The rest of the period the generic small talk Bella exchanged with Eric, Mike, Jessica, myself, and everybody else repeated with Edward a week later. What brought her to Forks? Insert information about Rene, Phil, and eventually Charlie. Edward coincidentally pulls a Jordan Castro and fills in the blanks Bella leaves behind. She backtracks.

"Am I annoying you?" he asked, sounding amused.

"Not exactly. I'm more annoyed at myself. My face is so easy to read — my mother always calls me her open book," she confided, frowning.

"On the contrary, I find you very difficult to read."

"You must be a good reader then."

"Usually."

Mr. Banner illustrated with transparencies on the overhead projector, talking about the details he circled and pointed to with arrows. When the bell rang, Edward rushed as swiftly and graciously from the room as he had last week. Mike beat me to Bella's desk and picked up her books for her, agitating me further. "That was awful," he groaned. "They all looked exactly the same. You're lucky you had Cullen for a partner."

"I didn't have any trouble with it," she snubbed. "I've done the lab before, though," she added, probably to preserve his feelings.

Selfless, bookworm, intuitive, maternal, independent, and I added considerate to her growing list of personality traits.

I was getting to know her.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Here's the next installment of A Vision of Love.**_

 _ **Just a heads up, things are only going to get sexier and kinkier from here on out,**_

 _ **showcasing BDSM themes and relationships.**_

 _ **From now on, I'll post a chapter after the previous one receives 4 reviews.**_

 _ **So, if you want Chapter 6, be sure to leave a review after you read!**_

 _ **THANK YOU**_

 **FIVE**

The next day Forks awoke to a layer of snow blanketing the buildings, roads, and trees. Both of my parents were already out of the house, but two slices of bread awaited me in the toaster, and I grabbed a juice box for a breakfast to-go. I spent a few minutes crisscrossing chains on my tires, the mountain air causing my breath to come out in clouds, before heading out into the brisk morning.

The parking lot was busy with all the students who slept in trying to find a parking spot before school started. I took advantage of one of the many benefits of riding a scooter, backing the bike up onto the sidewalk and deploying the kickstand. The moment previous to me entering campus, I noticed Bella's truck pull in out of the corner of my eye, so I plunged my hands into my pockets to wait.

That was when I saw several things simultaneously. Edward Cullen stood four cars down from Bella, staring at her in horror. A dark blue van was skidding, tires locked and squealing against the brakes, spinning wildly across the ice of the parking lot. It was going to hit the back corner of her truck, and Bella was standing between them. Then I witnessed something inexplicable…Edward saved her. Somehow he teleported —in between Bella and the van— from four cars away. A ripping metallic groan reverberated throughout the parking lot. A moment later the van settled, glass popping, shattering across the asphalt. It was absolutely silent for one long second before the screaming began. In the abrupt bedlam more than one person was shouting Bella's name. I broke into a run, leaping over the junction where the two vehicles collided, making it three of us sharing the small triangle formed by the truck, the van, and the curb.

"Bella? Are you all right?" Edward asked, voice low and frantic.

"I'm fine." She sounded strange. She tried to sit up but he was holding her against his body in an iron grasp.

"Be careful," he warned as she struggled. "I think you hit your head pretty hard."

"Ow," she said, surprised, fingers running over her scalp gingerly.

"That's what I thought." Now he sounded like he was suppressing laughter.

"Get off of her," I said, patience exasperated. He looked like he might argue but Bella pushed him away, slowly bracing herself against the truck, visibly shaken.

"How in the… How did you get over here so fast?"

"I was standing right next to you, Bella," he said, tone serious again.

"No you weren't," I protested. He threw me a glare that called to mind the phrase 'if looks could kill'. A crowd of people with tears streaming down their faces converged on the accident, shouting at each other, shouting at us.

"Don't move," someone instructed.

"Get Tyler out of the van!" someone else shouted.

"You were over there," Bella persisted. "You were by your car."

His features hardened. "No, I wasn't."

"I saw you," she insisted. All around us was chaos. The gruffer voices of adults were arriving on the scene.

"Bella, I was standing with you, and I pulled you out of the way."

"No," she said, jaw set.

"Please, Bella."

"Why?"

It took six EMTs and two teachers to shift the van far enough away from us to bring the stretchers in. Edward vehemently refused his, I explained I wasn't involved in the accident, and when Bella tried to do the same Edward told them she hit her head and was probably concussed. The tomato was back as a neck brace was fastened around her throat. It seemed the entire school was there, watching soberly as they loaded Bella into the back of the ambulance, me climbing in behind her. Edward sat in the front.

I held her hand as the sea of students parted for the ambulance. She was worried Charlie would freak out, but I reminded her there was little she could control about that. She asked if I too had seen Edward by his car before the van spun out of control, and I answered honestly. "How did he do it, then?" she asked. "How did he move so fast?" Her phrasing called to mind the relay race in gym…all of the Cullens were fast runners…even to the point of needing to restrain themselves… "His family, some of them looked disapproving or even furious, but they didn't seem concerned for Edward's safety." Sirens of a police escort began, making further conversation inconvenient.

Once at the county hospital, they unloaded Bella, clearly bitter that Edward simply glided through the hospital doors under his own power. We went to the emergency room, a long room with a line of beds separated by pastel-patterned curtains. A nurse put a pressure cuff on Bella's arm and a thermometer under her tongue. At her request, once the nurse left, I undid the Velcro holding Bella's brace in place, and she threw it under the bed.

Another stretcher arrived with a flurry of hospital personnel. I recognized Tyler Crowley from my government class beneath the bloodstained bandages wrapped tightly around his head, the bloke I shook my hair out all over. He looked a hundred times worse than Bella. "Bella, I'm so sorry!"

"I'm fine, Tyler —you look awful, are you all right?" As they spoke, nurses began unwinding his soiled bandages, exposing a myriad of shallow slices across his forehead and left cheek.

He ignored her. "I thought I was going to kill you! I was going too fast, and I hit the ice wrong…." He winced as one nurse started cleaning his cuts. I'll admit some anger still bubbled underneath my passive expression —he was right, he could've very well killed her— but Bella was alive and Tyler was clearly a lot worse off.

"Don't worry about it; you missed me."

"How did you get out of the way so fast? You were there, and then you were gone…"

"Umm…Edward pulled me out of the way."

"Who?"

"Edward Cullen —he was standing next to me." She didn't sound convincing at all. I added 'bad liar' to my growing cerebral list.

"Cullen? I didn't see him…wow, it was all so fast, I guess. Is he okay?"

"I think so. He's here somewhere, but they didn't make him use a stretcher."

More personnel came and wheeled Bella away to X-ray her head. I exchanged a few more words with Tyler, asked if I could get him anything, and wished him well during his recovery. Nearly the entire high school was in the waiting room, Jessica and Angela hurrying up to me, asking if I knew anything new. A dark-haired man with a mustache looked distraught in the corner. I excused myself to address him.

"Hello, sir," I said, the badge glinting on his chest earning him the honorific. "My name is Jordan Castro, Bella and I started school on the same day. Are you Charlie Swan?"

"Yes, hi," he said, distracted, but offering me his hand all the same.

I shook it. "I just wanted to let you know I was next to your daughter seconds after the crash, and I'm pretty sure she'll be okay, a mild concussion at the very most. They're X-raying her head now, and after she speaks with a doctor I'm sure they'll release her to you."

"Thank you, son," he said, features relaxing with relief. "What did you say your name was?"

"Jordan Castro."

"Castro, right, your folks moved here last week. A Quincy Castro came into the station asking about a hunting permit."

"That's my dad," I said, smiling.

I sat next to the Chief of Police as the dozens of us waited in the room designed specifically for that purpose. The clock on the wall counted off each second noisily. Eric and Mike came up to me with the same questions Jessica and Angela did, and I repeated the same answers. Notably, the rest of the Cullens were absent, seemingly not concerned about Edward in the slightest. I told her dad I would check on her and returned to the room housing she and Tyler. He was mumbling remorsefully to himself, apologies and promises to make it up to her, while Bella was on her side and looked to be asleep.

"Is she sleeping?" a musical voice asked. Her eyes flew open. _Edward_.

"Hey, Edward, I'm really sorry—" Tyler began.

He lifted a hand to stop him. "No blood, no foul," he said, flashing his brilliant teeth. He moved to sit on the edge of Tyler's bed, facing Bella. He smirked again. "So, what's the verdict?" he asked, looking back and forth between Bella and me.

"There's nothing wrong with me at all, but they won't let me go," she complained. "How come you aren't strapped to a gurney like the rest of us?"

"It's all about who you know," he answered, "but don't worry, I came to spring you." Just then a doctor walked around the corner, young and blonde and jaw-droppingly attractive, if Bella's open mouth was anything to go by. He shared the same pale skin and gold eyes as his adoptive family, a coincidence that bore no logic.

"So, Miss Swan," Dr. Cullen said, "how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine."

He switched on the light board above her head. "Your X-rays look good. Does your head hurt? Edward says you hit it pretty hard."

"I'm fine," she assured him again.

"Take some Tylenol for the pain," he suggested as he helped her stand.

"It doesn't hurt that bad," Bella insisted.

"It sounds like you were extremely lucky," Dr. Cullen said, smiling as he signed her chart with a flourish.

"Lucky Edward happened to be standing next to me," she amended, throwing a hard glance at the subject of her statement.

"Oh, well, yes," Dr. Cullen agreed, suddenly occupied with the papers in front of him. Then he looked away, at Tyler, and moved to the next bed. Bella's eyes met mine and we shared the same thought: _the doctor was in on it._ "I'm afraid that you'll have to stay with us just a little bit longer." The doctor retrieved fresh bandages from a cupboard and began rewrapping Tyler's head.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Bella hissed under her breath.

"Your father is waiting for you," Edward responded through his teeth.

"I'd like to speak with you alone, if you don't mind," she pressed.

Both of them turned left out of the emergency room, and I went right, updating Chief Swan on his daughter's status and assuring him that she'd be in the lobby soon. The gathered all released a sigh of relief. It was nice how much the small town cared about their newest addition. They reemerged, Bella's expression hinting that the conversation hadn't gone the way she wanted. Everyone stood and tried to embrace her at once, Charlie happily getting there first. "There's nothing wrong with me," Bella told him, aggravated by the whole situation.

"What did the doctor say?"

"Dr. Cullen saw me, and he said I was fine and I could go home. Let's go."

"Bella," I said before she could. "Would you mind if I stopped by later to check on you?" She looked to Charlie, who shrugged, and then gave me her assent before passing through the glass doors of the exit.

I started dicing carrots for a soup as soon as I got to my house. I'm not much of a chef outside of necessity, but I really wanted to cook something homemade for Bella and her dad after such a stressful day. I texted her to let her know I'd be bringing dinner for them both, and she replied with 'You're the best' and a heart next to it, making my spirits soar.

"That smells good," complimented my mom when she got home. "Mind if I have a taste?" I lifted the ladle to her lips and she took a sip. "Needs more salt and pepper, dear," she said, pinching my cheek before going upstairs.

I trusted her judgement, added in onions and celery and chicken broth, leaving my concoction to simmer for a few hours. I crashed on the couch and pulled out my phone. Charlie had told Rene, and Bella was upset. She already had two voicemails and four emails about it that now needed responding. I sympathized but reminded her she was lucky to have so many people who cared about her.

'What did you want to talk to Edward about?' I asked. Sent.

'I asked him more about the accident. You saw him by his car, right?'

'Definitely. He was at least 15 yards away from you. He give any answers?'

'No. Did I tell you that his hands left dents in the side of the van? I'm also pretty sure he lifted it off of me at one point.'

'I've heard stories of mothers lifting cars off of babies with an adrenaline rush. Maybe it was something like that?'

'Maybe. It doesn't explain how he got there so fast, or the dents, though.'

I stirred my soup, tasted it…a few more minutes and all the flavors will have bled together perfectly, I decided. Upstairs I took a shower and changed into a fresh t-shirt. My mom helped me find some Tupperware —I didn't know where anything was in this new house yet— and scooped the dinner into it as I held the pot. "You're cooking," she observed amusedly. "You must have met a girl."

"Isabella Swan," I admitted, putting the empty pot in the sink. "She started at school the same day as me. Being the new kids bonded us, I guess." I put the Tupperware in my backpack in the hopes the soup would stay hot, and added my English and Spanish homework as well. We hugged goodbye and I was on my way.

Bella texted me her address, but being new to the area it still look awhile to find. Charlie's police cruiser was the landmark that saved me in the end. I parked the bike, took a deep breath, and knocked on the door.

"Hey you," Bella said when she answered, hugging me. I savored the sensation of her body against mine, her soft cheek against my stubbly one, her hair smelt like strawberries. "Come inside, you're letting all the warm out." I did as she said, entering the abode, shaking Charlie's hand for the third time that day. The house was furnished with beige carpet and a brown leather couch with a matching ottoman and armchair. A fire crackled in the corner.

"I tried to keep this hot but you should probably nuke it," I said, handing over the chicken noodle soup. She obliged, dialing 2 minutes on the microwave, before leaning against the counter to wait.

"Thanks a lot for bringing dinner. I really wasn't in the mood to cook and Charlie can make two things."

"That's twice what I can do. What you have there is the encapsulation of my cooking skills." She laughed, the sound a reward itself. I rested my hand on top of hers and she let me. "How are you feeling?"

"Perfectly normal, happily."

"Good, I'm glad to hear that. You sure had everyone worried."  
"You can say that again," Charlie called from the living room. The microwave beeped, Bella using oven mitts to fetch the Tupperware. "Smells good." Charlie sat at the table with the newspaper. His daughter distributed three bowls as we gathered together. "So, where are you from originally, Jordan?"

"I was born in San Diego, but my parents love to travel, so I've lived in over two dozen cities in my lifetime."

"Two dozen?! I didn't realize it was that many," said Bella. "This is delicious."

"It really is. Maybe better than your cooking, Bells," said Charlie. "I really appreciate you taking care of Isabella today, Jordan. And to make us dinner on top of everything is, well, above and beyond, so thank you."

"It was my pleasure," I said. "Thank you for inviting me into your home."

"That Dr. Cullen is a great man. I'm sure he'll fix up Tyler Crowley good as new."

"Anything exciting in the news, dad?" Bella asked before taking another bite.

The dinner conversation was pleasant. Chief Swan's day was uneventful —I couldn't imagine much crime occurring in the tiny town of Forks— aside of course from Bella's near death experience. I cleared the table after everyone was finished, drying the dishes after Bella washed them. Charlie wandered back into the living space and soon sounds of the NFL echoed through the house. "Want to bust out some homework?" I suggested. After she agreed, we walked upstairs and headed into her bedroom, me enjoying the photos of Bella getting older that lined the hallway.

Her bedroom boasted a wooden floor, light blue walls, and a peaked ceiling. Lace curtains draped over the only window, yellowed with age. An old pine dresser held her clothes and there was a rocking chair in the corner, a desk with a second-hand computer in between. I sat on her bed and unloaded my schoolwork, Bella reclaiming hers from the end table drawer. "English o Español?"

"Español," she decided, unearthing the appropriate textbook from the stack on top of her dresser. "Is it notes or vocab tonight?"

"Both," I said, double-checking my planner. We divided up the work: she was responsible for the notes and I for the vocab. We worked in silence for a few minutes before Bella laughed unexpectedly. "What?"

"Your handwriting."

"What about it?"

She smiled at me. "You're my secret admirer."

Heat colored the tops of my ears. "It probably wasn't much of a secret, was it?" I said, choosing not to play coy.

Somehow her expression was one of disbelief. "Am I that oblivious?"

I smiled at her. "I guess."

"Well, that's very flattering, thank you Jordan."

We continued slaving away over the Spanish homework. I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye…she licked her lips…my member stirring in my pants. Charlie came into check on us, offering snacks and refreshments, which we accepted. I munched on the crackers and cheese and soda. I finished the vocabulary and leaned back on her bed as I waited for her to complete the notes. My fingers traced patterns on the small of her back and played with the tips of her hair. She looked over her shoulder at me and smiled. I mouthed 'You're beautiful'. She blushed and returned to her work.

A few minutes later she laid down next to me, homework set aside atop the end table. Her brown eyes cradled mine, sparkling, her face mere inches from mine. It would take nothing to close the gap…press my lips against hers… discover her taste. "What are you thinking about?" she asked quietly.

"Kissing you."

"Really?"

"Yes."

She bit her lip, eyes flicking to mine, one hand resting on the back of my neck. I inched closer to her, close enough to feel her breath on my face, but I didn't kiss her. She angled her head upwards, eyes never leaving mine, our lips maybe a centimeter apart now. "Please kiss me," she breathed. A tidal wave of hormones coursed through my veins as I connected our lips. Her mouth was soft and warm against mine. Her fingers knotted in my hair as I threw a leg around her and pulled her body beside mine. My hands cupped her face as her tongue slipped into my mouth. She tasted tantalizingly sweet. "Wait," she gasped, turning her face.

I laughed, drawing her body closer with both arms. "Did I take your breath away?"

"Yes, actually, you did," she said, laughing too.

We started kissing again and didn't stop for at least twenty minutes. I ran my tongue along her smooth teeth, flicked the roof of her mouth, bit her lip. Her hands traveled across my entire body, gliding across my chest, squeezing my biceps, even feeling up my ass. I copied her initiative, running my hands through her hair, fondling her breasts, and ended up with an ass cheek in each hand. I pivoted my head and came at her from another angle. I had plenty of tricks up my sleeve —I'd clocked several hours of making out time.

"Okay, we have to stop," I said eventually, "or I'm going to fuck you."

She laughed, face flushed, breathing and heartrate still irregular. "Got to save something for the second date, right?"

I smiled. "Exactly."

She helped me organize my things and repack my backpack. I hugged her for a handful of long moments, not wanting to let go. With one last deep breath of her scent, I released her with a kiss, retrieving my Tupperware and bidding Charlie farewell before biking home.

"How'd it go?" my dad asked when I arrived.

"Good. She kissed me."

"Atta boy," he said, high-fiving me.

The next morning I waited at Bella's usual parking spot for her beater truck to pull up, not willing to risk a repeat of yesterday. A few minutes before the bell she showed up, parking in her designated space. "Good morning," I said as I opened the door for her. "No rain yet."

"Don't jinx it." Our hands seemed to find each other naturally as we walked in step onto the campus of Forks High School. People certainly noticed, staring at the new kids for the first time since the first week. Bella didn't enjoy the extra attention, but it didn't bother her enough to let go of my hand. I gave her a squeeze as a thank you. She squeezed me back.

Tyler Crowley found us and followed Bella around the rest of the day, a constant stream of apologies and desire to make it up to her, which grew annoying quickly. When trig ended, I kissed Bella goodbye, and Mike Newton (who had been waiting to walk her to Spanish) looked like his eyes were going to fall out of his head.

It started raining pretty hard, the drops drumming the metal roof of the boy's locker room, most likely stranding us inside again. Emmett struck up some conversation as we changed. I entered the gym flanked by both Cullens, found their sisters, and joined the rest of the class in circling the student leading the stretches. I tried to keep my wandering eyes away from Alice, but that was much easier said than done. Bella wasn't my girlfriend yet, I reminded myself.

Coach Clapp asked us to break into partners and practice push-ups and sit-ups in anticipation for the state physical exams. I glanced at Alice, only to see her eyes darting back and forth between Jasper and I. I nodded my head in her direction, trying to tell her to pick her boyfriend, but it had the opposite effect as she skipped over to me. "Hello, Jordan," she greeted. "How's your day going?"

"Good so far, and you?"

"Good, thank you for asking," she said, smiling.

I assumed the push-up position and, once Alice started the stopwatch, began busting them out. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. I lifted my body up and down at least once a second, sweat dripping from my nose, muscles beginning to twitch.

"46," she said, sounding impressed. "You look exhausted."

"I am," I laughed, rolling onto my back, staring up at the domed ceiling. My chest rose and fell rapidly, saline trailing into my hair. I sat up and received the stopwatch from Alice, our fingers brushing again. Icy cold. I recalled Emmett's hand being the same temperature when we shook it.

Alice started as I clicked the stopwatch. She maintained a good pace and resulted in 34 push-ups. I high-fived her as she returned. "Is 34 enough to pass the test?" she asked.

"Should be. I think the target is 25 for girls and 40 for guys."

"You blew it out of the water, then."

"Yes, that I did."

We switched spots again and her small, delicate hands held my sneakers down. "Ready, set, go," she said, turning on the stopwatch. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. Having Alice's face to return to each rep served as perfect incentive. Each time I touched my chest to my knees, our faces were about six inches away. Eventually I averted my gaze. She had a boyfriend, after all, and I a quasi-girlfriend. "55! Good job," she congratulated.

We switched again. Her feet were tiny as well, proportional to her hands and the rest of her 4'10" frame. I began the stopwatch and she began cranking out the sit-ups. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. Again, each rep brought us nearly nose-to-nose, and now I couldn't look away without being obviously rude. The 60 seconds felt like 60 minutes, giving me plenty of time to drink in her eyes…her hair…her breasts. "39! Pretty impressive," I complimented her.

"Did you maybe want to eat lunch together?"

I hesitated whereas before I would've leapt at the chance. "Do you mind if I take a raincheck? You know, on account of the rain?" She smiled but seemed disappointed all the same. "Tomorrow, I promise. Today would be splendid except I told Bella I'd walk her through some homework at lunch. But tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay," Alice agreed happily, mollified.

Tyler Crowley was sitting in my seat when I arrived at my usual table with a tray of worm-like noodles with melted bricks on top. I tapped his shoulder and he scoot over, barely creating enough room. Our table was officially at capacity. Everyone chattered anxiously about the crash and Bella's recovery, much to her displeasure. I tried to change the subject a few times but Jessica in particular was obstinate about hearing each one of our firsthand accounts of what we witnessed yesterday. I played with one of Bella's hands with both of mine under the table.

In Biology, Edward's strange behavior made a return, him sitting as far away from Bella as the table would allow, not acknowledging her presence. Only now and then, when his fists would suddenly ball up —skin stretched even whiter over the bones— did I wonder if he wasn't quite as oblivious as he appeared.

A week passed and Edward ignored Bella for its entirety, not even glancing her way during the lunch hour. Because he wasn't outright rude to her I didn't feel I had a good enough excuse to confront him. Mike Newton made no secret of his liking the obvious coolness between Bella and her lab partner, relieved that Edward's daring rescue didn't seem to have impressed me. He grew more confident, sitting on the edge of her station to chat Bella up before class, ignoring Edward as completely as he ignored them.

The snow washed away for good after that one dangerously icy day. Mike was crestfallen he'd never gotten to stage his epic snowball fight, but glad that the beach trip would soon be possible. The rain continued heavily, though, each day that week. Jessica spoke incessantly of another event on the horizon: the girls' choice winter dance was in two weeks.

On Sunday night my phone lit up with a notification. 'Jess just called me.'

'About what?' I texted back. I was watching Sunday night football with my dad.

'She asked my permission to ask Mike to the girls' choice dance.'

'Lol. Did you say "absolutely not"?'

'Lol I told her I wasn't going.'

I frowned and sent the appropriate emoji.

'I don't dance.'

'I think you should reconsider. It's an excuse to dress up, go out to a nice dinner, and I bet you'd have fun.'

'I was thinking we could take our Seattle trip that night. We can still dress up and go out to a nice dinner.'

I smiled. 'We'll go up to Seattle soon no matter what. Will you think about going to the dance?'

'Fine. For you.'


	6. Chapter 6

**_Thank you to everyone reading and reviewing my work, you are what keeps me going even when its hard to find time or motivation to write. As promised, here is the 6th installment, and the 7th will be posted once this chapter obtains 4 reviews. So, if you're eager for more, be sure to leave your thoughts at the end!_**

 **SIX**

Monday morning my scooter idled outside of Bella's house. Charlie appeared in the doorway as she left, waving at me, and I waved back. The brunette straddled the bike behind me, threading her arms around my waist to hold on. I removed my helmet and gave it to her before peeling out of the driveway. "Slow down!" she squealed in my ear.

"Relax! We're going like 30 mph. It just seems faster because you can feel the wind against your face," I yelled above the gusts.

I took a left where it should have been a right, but somehow Bella didn't register it right away. The road began to double-back on itself as it started to scale the mountain. "Where are you taking me?" she asked, looking over her shoulder, probably realizing we were ascending as the forest grew thicker around us. I didn't answer, gunning the bike, resulting in another squeal and Bella tightening her grip around me. Mission accomplished.

Five minutes later I pulled over to the left onto the shoulder of the road. I deployed my kickstand and watched Bella's expression as she walked around the clearing. I'd spent most of Saturday riding across every square foot of Forks, trying to find an appropriate place to ask Bella to go steady. I settled on this location because it boasted a vista of the small town, the forest, and from this altitude on a clear day like today you could see the ocean. The pale sun reflected brilliantly against the gentle waters. I glanced at the object of my infatuation, the beauty of the view mirrored in the wonder of her features. "Isabella," I said, and she turned to look at me, "will you please be my girlfriend?"

A smile crept from her lips to her eyes. "Yes, of course," she said, closing the distance between us in a hug. "You know, I've never liked my full name, but…I do like the way it sounds in your voice." My hands slid to her ass, squeezing it, before breaking away just enough to reunite our mouths. Sweet, like honeysuckle. "Okay, Dr. Love, get us to school before we're tardy."

Nothing noteworthy occurred in English or government, but there was something different about Jessica, I realized, in trigonometry. I leaned over to Bella, whispering my question, and she in turn leaned toward Jessica and asked if everything was alright. A few minutes later my girlfriend made a dismissive gesture, leading me to believe my curiosity would be slated later.

The time came for Bella and I to part ways, making my thoughts drift to gym, and to Alice. "Hey, lovely, would you mind if I ate lunch with the Cullens today? Alice asked me yesterday and I rescheduled for today."

Her expression wavered. "Of course I don't mind," she replied in a tone that suggested the opposite. "She doesn't _like_ you, does she?"

I scoffed. "Scared she's going to ask me to the dance?" She moved to smack me but I caught her hand in midair, bringing her palm to my lips and kissing it. "Behave yourself, darling," I quipped with a wink.

We had the actual state physical exam for push-ups and sit-ups that day, Coach Clapp scribbling everyone's results on a clipboard. Both Alice and I outdid ourselves from the previous week, her scoring 35 push-ups and 42 sit-ups, me scoring 47 push-ups and 60 sit-ups.

Alice was waiting for me outside the double doors of cafeteria, face brightening when her eyes found mine. "Hello," I greeted, opening my arms for a hug. She obliged, her frame so much smaller than Bella's, her scent somewhere between pine needles and lavender. Strangely, her body was somehow…hard, like she was made of strictly bone, or even marble. I drew her more flush against me to ensure I wasn't going crazy, and I wasn't. She broke away then, perhaps suspicious of what I was doing.

I followed her to her lunch table, the rest of the Cullens greeting me cordially, Alice and I sitting on one bench and the rest of her siblings occupying the other. Rosalie, Jasper, and Edward were talking about an upcoming family camping trip to the summit of Mount Ploln. Emmett asked Alice how many push-ups and sit-ups she managed, and she answered. He laughed, pleasantly surprised, and asked me the same question. "47 push-ups, 60 sit-ups."

"Not bad," he said. "61 push-ups, 78 sit-ups for me. Best in the class."

"You're fudging those numbers," Jasper accused. "You did 59 push-ups and I did 60."

An argument started, and Alice and I smiled at each other. I noticed she hadn't touched her BLT sandwich, nor had any of her family members, as per usual. "You're not hungry?" I asked, gesturing at the meal.

"No, do you want it?" she said a little too quickly, pushing the tray over to me.

I accepted because I was hungry, but the list of strange traits the Cullens had in common was growing, and I had some long overdue googling to do when I got home. I sank my teeth into the bread and meat, chewing thoughtfully, allowing my eyes to roam over the gathered. Edward stood and threw away his and Rosalie's full trays, Jasper doing the same with his and Emmett's food. Very suspicious.

"Are you doing anything after school?" Alice asked. I glanced over my shoulder. Bella was looking at me wistfully —well, either me or Edward— hopefully me. I wondered if she would mind…she would say she didn't, but she probably did. It was already kind of lame that I was eating lunch with another girl on the same day I asked her out.

"Yeah, I'm having dinner with my parents, it's their anniversary," I lied.

"Another raincheck?" she asked hopefully.

I looked at Bella again. "I'd love to, but I need to run it by my girlfriend first."

Her face fell. "Girlfriend?" she asked.

"It's new, but yeah," I said, smiling despite myself. "You weren't planning on asking me to the girls' choice dance, were you?"

She laughed, a hallow sound. "I suppose I missed my chance if I was."

"What about…?" I left the sentence unfinished, inclining my head ever so slightly in the male Hale's direction. She shook her head wordlessly, sighing and looking away.

"How was it?" Bella asked as we ran into each other at the bottleneck. I slid my arm around her hips, my hand finding her far rear pocket. I used my other hand to tilt her face up and kiss her. Kissing Bella was now my absolute favorite way to pass time.

"It was good; all of them were friendly enough. Alice wanted to hang out tonight but I told her I had my parents' anniversary dinner."

Bella groaned. "She does like you."

"She's just being welcoming," I said, although even I had to admit it was starting to look like maybe she was interested. Had I jumped the gun in asking Bella out? Honestly I'd just assumed I wouldn't have a chance with Alice… I mean, she was so inhumanly beautiful, she seemed happy with her boyfriend of nearly a year, and the Cullens normally kept to themselves. "So, what's eating Jess?" The curly-haired chatterbox persisted in her uncharacteristic silence.

"She asked Mike to the dance and he said no," Bella murmured.

"You know why, don't you?"

"No, why?"

"He's going to ask you."

She snorted. "No he's not. He saw you kiss me after trig."

"That doesn't necessarily mean we're dating. I'd bet you $10 that Newton, Yorkie, _and_ Crowley are going to ask you."

"Fine, you're on."

In biology, I stomached watching Edward ignore Bella, his body angled as far away from her as possible. It made no sense. Why would he go through all the trouble of saving Bella just to pretend she was dead anyway? Immaturity got the better of me and I found an old straw in my backpack, starting ripping a sheet of paper into tiny pieces, and trying to work up a good amount of saliva. I loaded 3 spit balls, took careful aim, and shot the first one at the back of his head. Nothing. I put some more oomph behind my second missile and it stuck in his hair. Success! Bella spun around in her seat and mouthed 'Cut it out' but I mean, I had one more left in the chamber, and if she'd known that I'm sure she wouldn't have minded. He turned his head a fraction after the bullet deployed, causing my creation to strike his cheek. He turned around in his seat, black eyes ablaze with fury. I winked and blew a kiss at him.

"So is your parents' anniversary really tonight?"

"No," I said, laughing.

"Well, can I come over, maybe? You've met Charlie, so…I mean, I'd love to meet Miriam and Quincy, unless you think it's too soon."

"That's fine. I'm sure they'd love to meet you too."

After school, we both boarded my bike, and I took her back to the shoulder where I asked her to go steady. We sat there for a while, sitting on the metal partition, legs dangling over the cliff. Bella pointed out a river that snaked down the mountainside, overflowing its track from the last of the melted snowfall, cutting through the small town with two footbridges and one road crossing the running water. Clouds obscured the sea now, and much of the forest, making Forks look like the only place in the world. Bella rested her head on my shoulder, and I put an arm around her. We sat for a few more moments in silence, enjoying the view and each other's company.

Both of my parents greeted Bella warmly, embracing her, bombarding her with questions about her day and her family and her life story. We joined them in the living room for a spell, my girlfriend being a good sport about my folks' overbearing eagerness. Dad asked me to order in Chinese food, and after ascertaining that Bella enjoyed Asian cuisine, I grabbed the landline and did so. Egg rolls, chow mien, orange chicken, and fried rice. 60 minutes for delivery.

"Okay, I think we should give Bella a break from the interrogation so we can get some homework done," I said from the hallway, arms crossed. They conceded and Bella rushed to my side, gratitude plain on her features. We wandered upstairs, my hand on the small of her back, pinching her butt. "So I wanted to Google something real quick, I don't know if you want to wait or get started."

"I'll get a head start for us," she said kindly, sitting on her bed and getting out her things. "What subject? I kind of want to get trig out of the way, over and done with."

"Whatever you want, beautiful."

My laptop booted up and I began typing in all the symptoms I could remember: changing eye color; pale, hard, icy skin; no eating; super strength and super speed. Nothing came up. I closed the computer, frustrated. _I'm onto something_ , I thought stubbornly. _They have a secret. They are hiding something._

I joined Bella on my bed, resting my head in her lap, cracking open Great Expectations and scanning over our assigned chapters. One of her hands twirled my hair absently, making my scalp tingle. "Are the problems hard?"

"No, there are just a lot of them."

"Can I copy it after your done?"

"Of course. How's Great Expectations?"

"Pip just met Miss Havisham. You've read this before too, right?"

"Yep, along with everything else Mr. Mason mentioned we'll read this year."

I laughed, snuggling closer into her body heat, cashmere sweater, and intoxicating aroma. Without realizing it I fell asleep, snoring softly, as Bella finished the trig homework and moved onto government. I ended up unconscious for almost an hour, which I felt terribly about once awake, but Bella reassured me that the homework kept her busy. "You're so cute when you're asleep. You know you talk in your sleep?"

"I do?"

"Well, you mumble. I couldn't quite catch what you said. It sounded like my full name, though."

"It probably was," I said, smiling up at her. She leaned down to kiss me, her hair falling around our faces, a curtain of privacy. Her tongue parted my lips at what I thought was the conclusion of the smooch. My tongue swirled and danced with hers, caressing and flicking, exploring all the corners of her mouth. Somehow our bodies rearranged so we lay parallel to each other, embrace never pausing, hands tangled in one another's hair. Someone knocked on the door and Bella tried to move away from me, but I pinned her hands above her head and crawled on top of her, growling against her mouth. My parents knew that if I didn't vocalize something, we were busy with other activity. She submitted to my strength, opening her mouth again and letting me have my way with her. "Keep your hands here," I instructed. I kissed her rougher and rougher, squeezing her breasts as I liked.

"Okay, stop," she said breathlessly into my mouth a handful of minutes later. I did as she asked, rolling off of her, in need of catching my own breath. "That was too hot. It's like my body is an instrument and you're some genius maestro."

"I'll take that as a compliment," I teased. "Are you wet between your legs?"

She blushed.

"Answer me."

"Yes," she whispered, mortified.

"Why don't you try saying 'Yes, sir'?"

She bit her lip, nervous, uncertain. "Yes, sir." Instant erection.

"Did I tell you that you could put your hands down?"

They flew back over her head. "Good girl," I purred, unbuttoning the top button of her flannel and resting my hand on her chest. "Good girl, good girl…" I said, nuzzling my head into her ear.

"Oh, my, why does hearing you say that give me a hormone rush?"

"Because you enjoy pleasing me. You want to be my good girl, don't you, Isabella?"

"Yes, sir."

"And such a quick learner!"

"Dinner's ready!" my mom called from downstairs.

I smiled at my submissive girlfriend, standing and moving toward the door. "Why don't you ask for permission to get up and join me for dinner?"

"Sir?" she asked, voice so innocent. "May I please rise from your bed and join you for dinner?"

"You may, my good girl," I said, extending my hand. She did as I allotted her, taking my hand, and I dipped my head to kiss her. "Good girl," I whispered against her lips. "That's my girl."

The door closed behind the delivery boy as Bella and I joined my parents in the living room. My family dines informally most of the time, eating take-out in front of the TV, the exact circumstance of tonight. My dad reclined in the arm chair, my mom sharing the couch with Bella and I. The chow mien and egg rolls were delicious, the fried rice was okay, but I didn't care for the chicken. Bella, on the other hand, cleared her plate and served herself seconds.

"I'm going to take Bella home," I announced after dinner was done.

"Drive safe," my dad said, not looking away from the television.

"Do you want to try and drive?" I asked her, passing the helmet.

"Um, absolutely not, do you have a death wish?"

I laughed. "I guess you do trip over your own feet and have gotten into a crash."

I slid into the front and she in the back, arms back in one of my favorite positions, before I zoomed out of the driveway. The Swan residence was between five and ten minutes away from mine. Bella hugged me tightly, resting her helmeted head against my back. All too soon her white house emerged from the evergreen trees, the porch light activating as I rolled up to the front door. My girlfriend returned my helmet, kissing me shallowly but lingeringly.

"Goodnight baby," I said, kissing her hand.

The next day I tried my best to focus all my energies on Bella and not on Alice. Ever since my significant other pointed out Alice's interest, the thought kept intruding when my guard was down, like a thorn in my side that hurt only when I moved a certain way. Bella's beauty, intellect, and humor were more than enough to isolate my interest… that is, until gym. I successfully avoided the Cullens for the period, not having had the chance to get a firm yes or no from Bella about hanging out with Alice, and not desiring to confront the pixie until I did.

The bell rang and I only changed out my shirt, choosing to wear my Forks sweats the rest of the day, and putting my uniform in my backpack to launder later. I weaved past Emmett and Jasper, neither noticing me thankfully, before breaking into a jog to the cafeteria before Alice could catch up with me. After buying a tray of turkey, mashed potatoes, and gravy, I joined Bella and her (our?) group of friends.

"Hi, lovely," I greeted, kissing her cheek.

"Hey you. How was gym?"

"Fine. Have you put any more thought into me hanging out with Alice?"

She grimaced, swirling the brown into the white of her meal. "You really don't think she's interested in you?"

"She's dating Jasper, Bells. Look at them." She followed my gaze to see the two lovebirds holding hands, faces close, laughing at something private. "They've been going out for a year and they live together. You know they have sex every day and probably act like they're married at home."

"I guess you're right. I'm being silly."

I caressed her cheek with the back of my hand, and she turned toward the touch, me leaning in for a peck. "You're not silly. Paranoid, maybe, but not silly." She smacked me, but grumbled her permission to spend time with the 4'10" Cullen. However, she remained quiet during the rest of the hour, despite my or anyone else's attempts to reel her into conversation. I put an arm around her and pulled her close. "You have nothing to worry about, Isabella," I murmured into her ear. "I only have eyes for you."

I recalled Alice mentioning her last period of the day being English, so I dithered outside building three, collar turned up against the frosty winds. Again, her features lit up as we met eyes, and I couldn't help but smile. We hugged, my friend careful to have our bodies touching in as few places as possible, before beginning to walk to the parking lot. "How was your day?" I asked.

"It went by super slowly for some reason. I almost fell asleep in that last class."

"Oh yeah?" I said, smirking. "You're sure you'd rather hang with me than take a nap?"

"Positive!" she chirped. "Any idea what you'd like to do?"

"We could go to your place. Find out if we're truly neighbors or not."

Both of us halted once we reached my VXR. "My parents actually jumped the gun on spring cleaning a bit —the house is a mess— and Esme would kill me if I brought company over before they're done." I almost blurted out that the house looked immaculate from the outside, but that would've given my stalker-ish road trip away, so I bit my tongue. "Let me put my books in the Volvo and then we can figure out what we want to do." She did as she described, her siblings looking over at me with expressions ranging from disapproval to something vaguely positive I couldn't name. "Ready!" she announced, climbing onto the bike behind me.

"Here," I said, handing her my helmet.

"You take it. You need it more than me."

"What is that supposed to mean?" I scoffed. "I ride this thing every day."

"Oh, um, just that the driver is usually the most injured in motorcycle accidents."

"I think whoever's not wearing the helmet is usually the most injured," I said, easing the equipment over her head. "Make sure you hang on tight!" She wrapped her arms around my waist and I kicked the kickstand back into place. "Where am I headed?"

"Want to just walk around town?"

"Sure."

I gunned it out of the parking lot. Dark, full clouds seemed to follow us into town, the wind dying down but rain apparently in the near future. The trees thinned out the closer we got to town, buildings and shopfronts beginning to appear between them. I parked in the first public lot and we wandered into the Visitors Information Center, pictures of past mayors and police chief's lining the hallways, including an unflattering snapshot of Charlie Swan. The front desk had a brochure with a bulleted list of the tourist attractions Forks had to offer. Alice and I decided to be tourists of the town for the afternoon, her pretending and me being more or less the real thing.

Forks Timber Museum was first on our agenda. Two eight-foot figurines held a massive saw that was slicing a ginormous tree in half, the title of the museum painted across the tool. The $3 admission fee allowed one to browse farm tools, shipwreck artifacts, a wall of chainsaws, a replica of a logger bunkhouse, wood works from local artists, and the stump of the biggest tree Forks ever knew, which was struck by lightning and fell in 1947. I bought a panini at the gift shop/café, Alice declining one of her own, and we made use of the outdoor picnic area.

"I can't believe how long I've lived here and how much I learned about Forks."

"Remind me where you lived before?"

"Alaska. My family adores the cold and wet weather."

"You can say that again," I laughed. "Do you want a bite? It's really good."

"Sure," she said, surprising me. I extended the panini and she took a small, delicate bite.

She chewed thoughtfully. "Wow, that is good!"

"Do you want one? I'm buying."

"No, I'm not hungry, but thank you very much Jordan."

Next we strolled to Tillicum Park where one of the last historic Shay locomotive engines was on display. We walked around the machinery and read the plaque. Alice wanted a picture by the looming train which dwarfed her humorously. I retrieved my cellphone and took a few snaps as she switched poses. She skipped back to me and I handed her the device, desiring a few photos for my Facebook as well. The last attraction the pamphlet detailed was the Sol Duc Salmon Hatchery on the outskirts of town, a twenty minute walk from the park. Halfway there it started to drizzle, Alice with a purple umbrella attached to her belt loop that I hadn't noticed until it was needed. We huddled together to fit under an umbrella that was normally responsible for one pint-sized pixie. The hatchery was expansive, with pools farming the tiny pink eggs, and other tanks with adults swimming about. Men in lab coats bustled about, writing figures on their clipboards, the more friendly ones answering tourists' questions. Alice thought the salmon were cute and took several more pictures. At the end of the tour we signed the guest book, my first glance at Alice's tiny girlish handwriting. After she autographed it, her hand moved to the bottom of the page, scrawling 9 numbers and tearing off the segment.

"Here," she said, handing it to me, our fingers brushing and goosebumps sprouting up my arm in response. "Can you send me the train pictures sometime tonight?"

"Oh. Yeah, no worries."

We speed-walked to get out of the intensifying rain. A gust was picking up to the East, letting the raindrops circumvent the umbrella and assault us from the side. I switched sides with Alice so my trench coat could endure the worst of it.

As we boarded my scooter I advised Alice to close her umbrella or else it'd get turned inside out and ruined. She held me closer on the ride home than she did into town. The forest encroached closer and closer to the road…we passed my house, which I pointed out to my passenger…I accidently sped past the pathway that snaked to hers. I doubled back and slowed down once I transferred from pavement to soil… partially to avoid splatter onto my bike…and partially to drag out the last few moments I got to share with Alice. The beauty of the branch dome and clearing struck me again as I leaned on one leg, letting my passenger get off.

"Thank you for today, I had a lovely time," she said, smiling from ear to ear.

"Good, I'm glad to hear it. I did too." She leaned in and we embraced…pine needles and lavender swirling in my nostrils…before I reluctantly let go. "Tell your family I said hi. Have a good rest of your night."

"I will. Remember to text me those photos!"

"I will!"


	7. Chapter 7

**_Thank you to everyone who is following and reviewing this story! I take all of your suggestions and feedback into consideration so keep it coming! My sister's 18th birthday is today and we are taking a road trip to Mexico so it may take me several days to update but rest assured I will be spending my free moments writing. Without further ado, enjoy Chapter 7 :)_**

 **SEVEN**

Another week passed, Bella and me taking turns doing homework and making out at one another's houses. I texted Alice the photos and we texted off and on, which Bella knew, and things were strictly platonic. Charlie seemed to like me well enough, always friendly when I was under his roof, but a gut feeling told me he resented how much time his daughter and I spent together.

On Thursday before Biology, Mike was unusually quiet, with an uncomfortable look on his face. I feigned leaving something behind in the previous classroom, ducking behind the wall for a minute or two before jogging to catch up, and remained a step behind in order to eavesdrop.

"So," Mike said, looking at the ground. "Jessica asked me to the winter dance."

"That's great," Bella exclaimed. "You'll have a lot of fun with Jessica."

"Well…" He floundered as he studied her grin. "I told her I had to think about it."

"Why would you do that?" she asked, letting displeasure color her tone.

His face was bright red as he stared at his shoes. "I was wondering if… well, if you might be planning to ask me."

She paused. "Mike, I think you should tell her yes."

"Did you already ask someone?"

"No," she assured him, "I'm not going to the dance at all."

"Why not?" he demanded.

"I'm going to Seattle that Saturday," she explained.

"Can't you go some other weekend?"

"Sorry, no. You shouldn't make Jess wait any longer —it's rude."

"Yeah, you're right," he mumbled, dejected, as he turned and walked away.

Edward maintained his typical routine, pretending Bella didn't exist, once class began. Mr. Banner distributed a test and asked for silence during the next half hour. I chewed on the end of my pencil, confident in about half of my answers, but my mind was elsewhere. Did Alice like me? Was I the world's worst person for dating someone and still thinking about another? Some quiet chatter began as students completed the assessment. For once I found myself wishing I did have a lab partner to converse with.

"Bella?" Edward murmured.

She turned slowly, unwillingly. "What? Are you speaking to me again?"

"No, not really."

"Then what do you want, Edward?"

"I'm sorry," he said sincerely, "I'm being very impolite, I know. But it's better this way, really."

"I don't know what you mean," she replied, guarded.

"It's better if we're not friends," he explained. "Trust me."

"It's too bad you didn't figure that out earlier," she hissed. "You could have saved yourself all this regret."

"Regret? Regret for what?"

"For not just letting that stupid van squish me."

"You think I regret saving your life?" His voice oscillated between anger and astonishment.

"I KNOW you do," Bella snapped.

"You don't know anything."

Silent tension between them the rest of the period. My inner child wanted to whip out my trusty straw/sharpshooter again, but I didn't want to make things any worse. At the chimes Edward was out the door. Bella sighed explosively, leaving her station in a flurry, forgetting her books. I picked them up and followed her, having to pick up my speed, her anger causing her legs to quicken. "What is his PROBLEM?" she demanded, reeling around and advancing on me. "I've never been anything short of kind to him! Why would he bother with rescuing me just to give me death glares the rest of my life?"

"He's just a fucked up kid. I'm sure it's nothing personal, Bells."

"UGH!"

Her move hadn't improved by the conclusion of the school day. I sat on my scooter, waiting for Bella to get in the line of cars idling in a queue to exit. Someone was leaning against her truck. I stood up and began to stride nonchalantly in their general direction. I ducked behind the massive tire of a Jeep, the vehicle to hers immediate right. "Hey, Eric," she greeted.

"Hi, Bella."

"What's up?" she asked as she unlocked her door.

"Uh, I was just wondering…if you would go to the winter dance with me?" His voice broke on the last word.

"I thought it was girls' choice."

"Well, yeah," he admitted.

"Thank you for asking me, but I'm going to be in Seattle that day."

"Oh," he said. "Well, maybe next time."

"Sure," she agreed.

I grinned as I snuck my way back to the VXR. Two guys had played into my bet, and only one to go. I revved my bike into the queue of cars and watched as Bella shifted into reverse, Edward cutting her off in the silver Volvo. "Asshole," I cursed under my breath. _I pray that bastard gives me an excuse to kick his ass someday soon._ Tyler Crowley, driving a rental since his parents sold the van for parts, left his car running and the door open, walking up to Bella's truck and tapping the window.

"I'm sorry, Tyler, I'm stuck behind Cullen."

"Oh, I know —I just wanted to ask you something while we're trapped here."

Jackpot.

"Will you ask me to the winter dance?"

"I'm not going to be in town, Tyler."

"Yeah, Mike said that."

"Then why—"

He shrugged. "I was hoping you were just letting him down easy."

"Sorry, Tyler. I really am going out of town."

"That's cool. We still have prom."

He returned to his rental, me laughing so hard my ribs hurt. Bella owed me ten bucks. I wish I had bet for a blowjob instead. Alice, Rosalie, Jasper, and Emmett all slid into the Volvo. I could see Edward laughing through the windshield as if he overheard the whole exchange as well. I flicked to Bella's expression and she appeared to seriously be considering rear-ending him, going so far as to rev her engine. I puttered over to her before she could get into her second vehicular altercation.

"Any plans with Alice today?" she asked.

"Look, I understand you're in a bad mood, okay? I came over here to ask if YOU wanted to hang out tonight."

"Yes please," she mumbled. "Come over for dinner. I feel like cooking something really involved that I have to throw myself into."

"Then I'll be your sous chef," I said, smirking. To conserve gas I lifted the scooter into the bed of her truck —no easy feat, but I'm strong for my size— and hopped into the passenger side seat. "Don't forget about our little wager, beautiful. You're ten bucks in the hole."

She groaned. "Today is the worst day of my life. My wallet is in the glove box. Go for it."

"Actually… I was hoping I could cash in my prize for something a little more… mutually satisfying."

She laughed sharply. "I know you're trying to be charming, Jordan, but I'm seriously not in the mood, sorry."

I put my hand on the back of her neck and massaged her lightly. "No, I'm sorry, darling. I'll be more considerate. You don't owe me anything."

"Thank you."

Minutes later we pulled into the driveway. I beat her to the door, sticking my head inside and warning Charlie of her mood, which he flashed me a thumbs-up in gratitude. She stormed in then, crashing atop the couch in a huff. Charlie and I wisely kept silent, letting the news anchor's chatter expel some of Bella's residual energies. As the 5 o'clock news began, Bella freed her trig homework from her backpack, and I copied suit.

"What's for dinner, Bells?" her father asked.

She grabbed a throw pillow from the sofa and began screaming into it. Charlie and I exchanged looks of mild fear. The screaming stopped. "I wanted to make chicken enchiladas. But they take at least two hours to make," she said, face still buried.

"We can wait, Bells. I love your chicken enchiladas."

"No, no, I won't make you wait. I can dish up something quick."

She got to her feet with more muffled noises of exasperation. When I got up to follow her into the kitchen, Charlie caught my arm. "Tell her I don't mind the hold-up. The enchiladas are well worth waiting for and you ought to try them."

"Yes sir." I wandered into the kitchen to find Bella knelt in front of the refrigerator, liberating all the ingredients she'd need for the meal. I sat down behind her, gently grasping her biceps and tilting her body backwards until her center of gravity shifted, causing her to fall back on her butt. I wrapped my arms and legs around her, completely cocooning her in limbs. "Don't stress, honey muffin. Charlie assured me he doesn't mind the downtime. Apparently these enchiladas are worth the wait."

"I'm sorry I'm acting so weird. It's just that all my guy friends are crushing on me. And Edward's starting to really mess with my head."

"Let me talk to him. The least he can do is treat you with common courtesy."

"I can talk to him. I'll do it tomorrow."

"No offense lovely, but you seem to find him intimidating. Which I don't blame you for," I added quickly. "I don't want to infringe upon your independence, but trust me when I say watching the way he acts around you is just as infuriating for me as it is you, if not more so."

She stood with onions, chicken, green peppers, and chilies in her hands. She directed me to fetch a handful of cooking utensils from a drawer, allowing me the big knife to begin dicing the vegetables. "I'll think about it," she said such a while later it took me a beat to remember what she was responding to. "Just don't talk to him until I say, alright?"

"You got it, beautiful," I said, kissing her cheek.

A half hour later everything was prepped. The phone rang, startling my girlfriend, and for some reason she waited until the last ring to answer. It was Jessica —I could hear here jubilation through the phone— Mike had caught her after school to accept her invitation. She celebrated with her friend briefly as I stirred. Jessica had to go: she wanted to call Angela and Lauren to tell them. Bella suggested with casual innocence that maybe Angela could ask Eric. She also mentioned Lauren, a standoffish girl who more or less ignored us at the lunch table, could ask Tyler; she'd heard he was still available. Jess thought the ideas were genius. Now that she was sure of Mike, she sounded sincere about wishing Bella would go to the dance. She gave the Seattle excuse as she slid the enchiladas into the oven.

"Well, we have an hour to kill now," she said, wiping perspiration from her forehead.

"You're adorable, my pet," I said, tucking her hair behind her ear.

I softly tipped her head up, our lips a centimeter a part, me teasing her by licking her lips and circling her mouth. "Please sir…please kiss me." I dove in, tongue swooping up her sweet taste, other arm holding her body against mine with an iron grip.

"We should start your training soon," I said as our mouths parted.

"Training?" she asked breathlessly.

"What do you know about BDSM?" I asked, creating some space between us, smiling at her.

"Um —nothing— what is it?"

"Well, it's a complex acronym," I explained as we climbed the staircase. "It stands for Bondage and Discipline, Dominance and Submission, Sadism and Masochism."

"…Okay," she said, "and what does all of that mean?"

I opened her bedroom door for her. "Bondage refers to tying someone up: ropes, hand cuffs, etc. Discipline refers to following rules, respecting the dominant, and being punished when you fail to do so. Dominance refers to the person in charge, sexually, and is called by honorifics such as sir. Submission is what the other person gives in exchange for the dominance, trusting their partner to keep them safe as they descend into sub space. Sadism is deriving sexual satisfaction by inflicting pain, suffering, or humiliation on someone else. Masochism is enjoying these things happening to you."

"Wow," she said, sitting on her bed. "That's a lot."

"It is," I agreed, sitting next to her and taking her hand. "I'm going to ask that you save any questions you think of for me. There's a lot of conflicting information on the internet, and not everything associated with the scene is relevant to our relationship. Does that make sense?"

"Yes," she said. "Yes sir," she amended quickly.

"God, you're such a natural, it makes me so horny." I pounced on her, pinning her hands above her head with one of mine, slapping her lightly with the other. She whimpered against my mouth, opening hers when prompted and otherwise letting me have my way with her. "Such a good submissive girl," I purred against her neck. "Letting Master do whatever he wants to the body that belongs to him…"

She squealed, biting her lip, trying to stay quiet. "Master," she gasped. "Master."

"Yes my sweet?"

"I love saying that word, Master."

"Say, 'I submit to you Master Jordan.'"

She moaned, a guttural sound in the back of her throat. "I submit to you Master Jordan."

"That's my girl," I said, slapping her again. "You like that?"

"Yes sir."

I backhanded her. "Yeah?"

She looked up at me, eyes beginning to glaze over as she entered sub space. "Yes sir," she breathed, eyelids flickering open and closed.

"Stay with me Isabella," I murmured, stroking her hair, kissing her softly along her jawline. "Stay with me, precious girl. Dinner is soon. I'm bringing you back now. Follow the sound of my voice." She made a confused sound. "What's your name, darling?"

"Bella…"

"Your full name, my pet."

"…Isabella…Marie…Swan."

"What's Master's name, little girl?"

"Jordan…Jordan…" Her brow furrowed and she became distressed.

"David," I said gently.

"Jordan David Castro," she said, becoming more alert behind the eyes. "Hi."

"Hi love," I said, smiling. I leaned in and kissed her with excruciating suppleness. "You are such a good girl, Isabella. How was your first trip into sub space?"

"It was…interesting," she said, curling up against my chest. "My head feels warm and fuzzy. That was strange. It feels like I went somewhere and came back."

"You did," I said, laughing. "You went into sub space. It's sort of like I carry you down a staircase into a basement of sexual pleasure…a timeless place in between dimensions…walk around a bit, show you around…and then I carry you back up into reality."

"I've never experienced anything like that before."

"Did you like it?"

"Yes sir."

"Do you want to experience things like that more often?"

"Yes please Master."

"Good," I said, smooching her. "That can certainly be arranged."

We ventured back downstairs to check on the food. The enchiladas were crispy but not quite burnt. Bella called her father in to join us as I set the table. As usual, Charlie brought the paper with him to the dinner table, and Bella served us generous portions of enchiladas and beans. Charlie told us about a gang of middle school kids he found trying to vandalize the stone footbridge that crossed the river near the middle of town. The ringleader was going to juvenile hall anywhere from 6 to 18 months while the rest of the delinquents had 100 hours of community service. The meal was flavorful and just the right amount of spicy. All three of us had seconds and I uncharacteristically vouched for thirds.

"You should ask to spend the night," Bella said as we cleared the table.

"Are you crazy? I think Charlie is generous having me over as often as he does. Plus it's a school night."

"Like you said, you're over here all the time anyway, lots of times you leave just before I go to bed and then end up picking me up in the morning. We've been dating for almost a month now. I think we should start trying to drop hints at least."

"Charlie doesn't strike me as a man who can pick up hints."

"Touché."

After washing the dishes, Bella drying and putting them away, I visited with her and Charlie for another hour before returning home. My dad helped me out with the biology homework —that was his major in college— before I trudged upstairs and turned in for an early night.

The next morning I stopped by Bella's house but her truck was already gone. My brow furrowed as I took off again…I mean, we didn't expressly state I would pick her up the next morning, but something about our conversation had made me assume so. I bobbed and weaved through the traffic, backing the bike up onto my usual spot on the sidewalk, eyes combing over the parking lot for—

Bella and Edward stooped and then stood together, the pale kid dangling the car keys in front of her. I left my bike and began jogging over to them as she snatched them back. Just before I was scene I made the split-second decision to duck behind a car and eavesdrop, something I was doing more now than I ever did before in my life.

"How do you DO that?" my girlfriend asked in amazed annoyance.

"Do what?"

"Appear out of thin air."

"Bella, it's not my fault if you are exceptionally unobservant." Untrue. Bella people-watched just as often and was equipped with just as much intuition as I did.

"Why the traffic jam last night?" she demanded. "I thought you were supposed to be pretending I don't exist, not irritating me to death."

He snickered. "That was for Tyler's sake, not mine. I had to give him his chance."

"You…!" She unleashed one of her sounds of exasperation, as if she couldn't find an expletive worthy enough to call him.

"And I'm not pretending you don't exist," he continued.

"So you ARE trying to irritate me to death? Since Tyler's van didn't do the job?"

God, I wish she'd stop joking about that. "Bella, you are utterly absurd," he said. I heard footsteps and a moment later my girlfriend was walking past me. I shrunk against the tire —if she turned, she'd see me— and Edward appeared next to her. "Wait!" he called. She halted, partially obscured by the next vehicle, and Cullen thankfully walked around so he was facing her instead of her spinning to face him. "I'm sorry, that was rude," he said. "I'm not saying it isn't true," he qualified, "but it was rude to say, anyway."

"Why won't you leave me alone?" she grumbled.

"I wanted to ask you something, but you sidetracked me," he chuckled.

"Do you have multiple personality disorder?"

"You're doing it again."

She sighed. "Fine, then. What do you want to ask?"

"I was wondering if, a week from Saturday — you know, the day of the winter dance—"

"Are you trying to be FUNNY?" she interrupted him, wheeling toward him, fully back in my view.

"Will you please allow me to finish?" She bit her lip and clasped her hands together, interlocking her fingers, patience thinning across her features. _She looks like she's trying not to hit him_ , I realized, instantly amused. "I heard you say you were going to Seattle that day, and I was wondering if you wanted a ride."

"What?"

"Do you want a ride to Seattle?"

"With who?" she asked, mystified. _With who else?_ I thought to myself dryly.

"Myself, obviously."

"Why?"

"Well, I was planning to go to Seattle in the next few weeks, and, to be honest, I'm not sure if your truck can make it."

Bella's eyes flicked to her truck —I inhaled sharply and froze— but her gaze returned to Edward before discovering my hiding spot. "My truck works just fine, thank you very much for your concern."

"But can your truck make it there on one tank of gas?" he pressed.

"I don't see how that is any of your business." Her tone suggested an implied 'stupid, shiny Volvo owner' tacked on to the end of her retort.

"Wasting finite resources is everyone's business," the smart ass said.

"Honestly, Edward, I can't keep up with you. I thought you didn't want to be my friend."

"I said it would be better if we weren't friends, not that I didn't want to be."

"Oh, thanks, now that's ALL cleared up." Heavy sarcasm. I shifted my weight uncomfortably…I wasn't going to be able to perch here much longer, and if Bella didn't find a way to shoot him down soon, I was going to do it for her.

"It would be more…prudent for you not to be my friend," he explained, "but I'm tired of trying to stay away from you, Bella." Well then he was about to be exhausted. "Will you go with me to Seattle?"

"No," she declared with surprising resolve. "If I don't go to the winter dance with my boyfriend, he'll be the one giving me a ride to Seattle, thank you." With that, she spun with a flurry of brunette waves, and started toward the school as the bell rang. Edward stayed where she left him, looking like an idiot. I quietly moved along the car before injecting myself into a massive group of freshman making their way to campus. I rubbed my sweaty palms across my jeans.

 _I should be a spy when I grow up._


	8. Chapter 8

_**Hi everyone, I'm baaaack ;) Mexico was beautiful and I churned out a new chapter for you guys. Be sure to let me know what you think by leaving a review after you read. I took a reader's suggestion so expect something a little different next chapter! I'll begin writing Chapter 10 once this chapter gets 5 reviews. Get cracking!**_

 **EIGHT**

Mike and Eric flanked Bella and I as we walked from English to government. Porcupine had himself in a tizzy over the weekend's weather report: the rain was supposed to relent, in theory making his beach trip possible. Bella feigned excitement and I matched it with actual enthusiasm. While initially the journey didn't strike me as particularly worthwhile or fun-sounding, part of me missed the more oceanic places I lived, and while Forks was only 15 miles from the coast, the only glimpse I'd gotten of the sea in the past two months was when I asked Bella out on the shoulder with the panorama.

The rest of the morning passed in a blur. While I was happy Bella declined Edward's offer and asserted that she indeed had a boyfriend, it seemed to take her ages to spit the simple fact out. Was she delaying in order to have the longest conversation with him possible? The kid was good-looking —I couldn't deny it— and he had the bad boy persona and mystique going for him. But then again, maybe Edward was Bella's Alice…

I blinked. What did I mean by that?

I slipped in between Bella and Jessica as we sat at our normal table. The curly-haired girl babbled on and on about her dance plans —Lauren and Angela had asked the other boys and they were all going together— completely unaware of Bella and I's inattention. I followed my girlfriend's gaze…found the Cullen table…minus The Hair, for some inexplicable reason. She sulkily sipped her lemonade. I inwardly fumed.

"Go to Seattle with him, then," I murmured mostly to myself, scooping up some rice and shoveling it down.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"May I please ask what's wrong, sir?" she asked in my ear, too quietly for anyone else to hear.

Shit. Now I felt bad. "It's nothing, sweetheart."

"Please, sir," she implored, lips moving against my ear. I silently prayed she'd let her tongue sneak out, licking the valleys of my earlobe, but Bella wasn't as free and easy as I was with PDA, plus from a BDSM standpoint I hadn't exactly allowed her the freedom to initiate that kind of affection.

"Why do you have to be such a good girl? I can't help but reward you."

She allowed herself a smug smile. "What's wrong, then, if I may ask, Master?"

"Do you like Edward?" I asked bluntly.

She hesitated, which I didn't like. "Of course not," she insisted.

"Then why the hesitation?"

"I didn't hesitate!"

"Yes you did."

She looked like she might argue further, but then she bit her lip, snuggling closer to me. "Yes sir," she admitted to my neck. I imagined I could feel the heat of her cheeks against my skin. I sighed, allowing the weight of the news to register.

"You wish you were dating him," I said.

"NEVER, sir," she assured me, grabbing me by both shoulders and turning my torso toward her.

"What was that?" Eric asked.

"Nothing," I snapped at him. He returned to his lunch: pork chops and rice. As I pivoted my head to continue talking to Bella, I noticed something strange in the extreme. "He's sitting by himself."

"Who?"

"Edward."

Bella followed my line of sight and found the same discovery. He locked eyes with her, smirked, and motioned with his index finger for my girlfriend to join him. "Does he mean YOU?" Jessica asked with insulting disbelief.

"Go," I ordered her. She opened her mouth as if to argue, but saw my seriousness in my expression, so with a wince she took her lemonade and crossed the threshold. Edward's smile grew wider as she sat down. _If the doctor wasn't so nice I'd fuck his mother,_ I thought grumpily.

They conversed pleasantly enough for the first few moments. I abandoned my tray; my appetite evaporated. My attention flicked back to the Cullen table —both couples had eyes only for each other, Alice playing with Jasper's curls, and his eyes curiously devoid of their usual grief. I made a mental note, chewing the interior of my cheek, freshly frustrated that my Google search turned up nothing. The Cullens had a secret: of that, I was positive. My only hope was that there was another explanation beyond the entire family being bitten by the same radioactive spider.

I looked back to Edward and Bella and the conversation seemed hostile. I stood, tray in hand, walking deliberately to the trash can in their general direction. The Hair noticed, his features tightening ever so perceptibly. I dumped the pork chops and rice into the bin, watching the food slide off the plate, before turning and exiting the cafeteria altogether. I'd overheard a few sentences of conversation and there was nothing alarming about the tones of voices or subject matter. Besides, I needed some fresh air to clear my head.

I arrived at building four a few minutes before class. I assisted Mr. Banner with a few cardboard boxes he was struggling with. The teacher instructed me to outfit each station with two indicator cards, two four-pronged applicators, and two sterile micro-lancets. It seemed to me we would be testing for our blood types today. I already knew mine —AB negative— the universal recipient.

I ignored Bella as she ducked into the classroom at the final bell. Milking her lunch with Edward for each possible second, it appeared. Curiously he did not show up behind her. Maybe Edward was queasy when it came to blood.

"Okay, guys, at your stations you should find two indicator cards, two four-pronged applicators, and two sterile micro-lancets. I'll be coming around with a dropper of water to prepare your cards, so please don't start until I get to you." Mr. Banner began at Mike's table, putting a drop of water in each of the four squares. "Then I want you to carefully prick your finger with the lancet…." He grabbed Mike's hand and jabbed the spike into the tip of Mike's middle finger. "Put a small drop of blood on each of the prongs." He demonstrated, squeezing Mike's digit until the blood flowed. "And then apply it to the card," he finished, showing the dripping red car for the class to see. "The Red Cross is having a blood drive in Port Angeles next weekend —not this weekend, ladies, the winter dance is safe— so I thought you should all know your blood type." He sounded proud of himself. "Those of you who aren't eighteen yet will need a parent's permission: I have slips at my desk."

Mr. Banner continued to make the rounds with his water drops. I watched Bella put her face to the black tabletop. All around I heard squeals, complaints, and giggles as my classmates skewered their fingers. Her body rose and fell quickly with fast, irregular breaths. I raised my hand. "Mr. Banner, I don't think Bella is feeling very well."

"Bella, are you alright?" he asked, alarmed.

"I already know my blood type, Mr. Banner," she said weakly.

"Are you feeling faint?"

"Yes sir."

"Can someone take Bella to the nurse, please?" he called. Mike leapt up but I was closer. I put my hand on my girlfriend's shoulder gently, helping her to her feet. "Can you walk?"

"Yes," she whispered, although contrarily leaning most of her weight on me. I towed her slowly out of the room and down the walkway. Once we were out of sight of building four, she stopped. "Just let me sit for a minute, please?" I helped her park herself on the curb. She tucked up her knees and hugged them to her body, resting her head, breathing still irregular.

"Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth, darling. That's it. That's my girl." I scratched her behind the ear and she angled her head into my touch. "That's my girl. That's my good girl." She barked softly. I laughed. "You're green, sweetheart. Take as much time as you need." I put an arm around her to keep her warm as gusts of wind tossed about our hair.

"Bella?" a different voice called from a distance. My insides went frosty. "What's wrong —is she hurt?"

"She's just nauseous. We're blood typing in biology. But you'd know that if you showed up."

He ignored me. "Bella, can you hear me?"

"No," she groaned. "Go away."

Edward stood up. "I'll take her to the nurse. You can go back to class."

"No, you can go fuck yourself, and I'll resume taking my girlfriend to the nurse, thanks." In one fluid movement he scooped her limp body into his arms. Every cell in my body screamed in protest.

"Put me down!" she yelped. "Put me back on the sidewalk, Edward."

"Put…her down," I echoed, voice shaking with rage. He hesitated and it required every ounce of self-control I possessed to not resort to violence with my girlfriend in his arms. "NOW!" I nearly shouted at him. He waited for another beat to pass (probably just to be difficult, the immature asshole) before replacing Bella where he found her. "Go ahead," I said, shooing him away with my hand. "Fuck off, now. Have a nice day."

After he disappeared around the corner I kicked the brick wall as hard as I could, my thick work boots saving me from a stubbed toe. I kicked it again and again and again until I ran out of breath. I joined Bella on the stoop. She looked wary of me. "You're not angry with me, are you?" she asked in a small voice.

"Why would I be mad at you?" I asked, aggravation inching into my tone.

"I don't know…I just don't want you to be…"

I lobbed my arm over her and brought her in close. "It's not you, lovely. It's fucking Cullen. Someone hasn't gotten under my skin like him in a LONG time. Like, why is he so hot and cold toward you? Why is he so shamelessly pursuing someone who's taken? And what's his family's secret?! You know they have one."

"I know," she agreed, resting her head on my shoulder.

We sat there for a few more minutes before standing and closing the rest of the distance to our destination. The nurse gasped when she saw the color (or lack thereof) in Bella's face. "She fainted in biology," I explained. The nurse gestured at a brown vinyl mattress with crackly paper covering it and Bella laid across it.

"Blood typing?" the nurse asked wisely.

"Yep," I confirmed.

"There's always one." She rested a hand on Bella's back. "Just lie down for a minute, honey; it'll pass. Does this happen a lot?"

"Only around blood."

"Yours or others'?"

"Any blood."

She nodded sympathetically. "You can go back to class now," she said, bidding me farewell with a smile.

"I'm supposed to stay with her." The nurse pursed her lips but didn't argue with me. I released a quick thank you for my penetrating eyes. "Can I get you anything, honey muffin?"

"Water, please."

I plucked a paper cup from the dispenser attached to the wall and pushed a button on the machine, handing her the drink. She leaned forward to take a sip before falling back down and closing her eyes. After obtaining the nurse's permission I fetched an ice pack from the freezer, wrapped it in a few layers of paper towels, and pressed it to my girlfriend's forehead. She moaned in gratitude, already half asleep. I waited with her the rest of the period, holding her hand in between both of mine.

"We've got another one," the nurse said, joining us again in the small office. I roused Bella and, pulling an Edward, scooped her up bridal style to carry her outside.

"Please don't put me down," she said, smiling up at me. I smiled back even wider, leaning down and kissing my girlfriend. When I was done, all the color was back in her cheeks. Bella was good as new.

"I have an idea," I said as I put her down in front of the gate that led to the parking lot.

"Then it must be brilliant," she said, tussling my hair.

"What if we went to Seattle tonight?" Her brow furrowed. "We could get a hotel room and that way we can spend all of Saturday exploring the city. What do you think?"

"I think Charlie wouldn't go for it."

"Tell him you're spending the night at Jessica's."

She thought it over. "I'm guessing you want to leave right now?"

"You guessed right."

"…Okay, fine, you wore me down. Can I park my truck at your place?"

"Of course. Meet you there?"

In my mind we were racing and I easily won. I debated on whether or not to allow my parents to be privy to my plans —they're not the type to worry if I didn't spend the night at home without notice— but I figured I wanted them to know where I was if for some reason I didn't return. I peeked inside but nobody was home. I tore a page from one of my school spirals and scrawled a note of explanation, leaving the missive on the fridge hanging by a magnet.

I came back outside armed with an extra helmet. My girlfriend got on behind me and I took off. Seattle was three or four hours away: a mini road trip. It started to drizzle as we left Forks in the dust.

We stopped in Port Angeles to refill my tank and grab dinner. We chose an Italian joint called The Sicilian and split beef lasagna. I stared across the tablecloth at my girlfriend…candlelight glinting in her deep brown eyes…smile so natural and beautiful. We held hands across the table and I caught an elderly couple gossiping about us. I wondered if we reminded them of when they first met. It was dark once we left. I merged onto the 101 highway, restricted to the slow lane because of the modest maximum speed of my scooter. I pulled over at a Starbucks in Poulsbo so Bella could go to the bathroom. The clock in the motel lobby claimed it was 9:30pm as we checked in. I slid my debt card across the counter and received a room key in return.

I shouldered open the door to room 83: two single beds separated by an end table with a lamp on it. Stupid clerk. I unplugged the light and handed it to Bella, lifting the end table over my head and relocating it to the corner. She tried to help me push the singles together but hers wouldn't budge. I laughed as I slid my bed against hers. We ripped the blankets off hers and remade the bed with my dressings. After fifteen minutes of correcting our arrangements we finally got to crawl under the covers.

"Do you want to go into sub space again?" I asked as we began to kiss.

"Oh, yes please, Master."

"Put your hands up."

Her arms shot to the sky. I eased her blouse over her head, revealing a simple black bra, her breasts somewhere between a B and C cup. I hooked my fingers underneath the hem of her jeans and slid them off her, uncasing black panties. Seeing my girlfriend in the matching underwear made me hard. I'd never seen this much of her skin before. "You're beautiful," I said breathlessly.

"Really?" She bit her lip with self-consciousness.

"You're the most beautiful girl I've ever been with."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes, Isabella."

"Really?"

"Yes, my pet." Arguably, I'd been with women who might arbitrarily score higher if you polled a random population of men, but that night in that moment, there was no one else I'd rather be with. I kissed her deeply and passionately, our bodies intertwining beyond recognition, breaths coming in pants. She pulled at my shirt and I yanked it off, her hands relishing every inch of my abs. I let her crawl on top of me, skin against skin, grinding against each other. My dick was soon flying at full mast. As sexually experienced as I was, whether because it'd been so long or I found Bella's innocence so sexy, I gasped and nearly came in my shorts when her hand wrapped around my member. I rolled away from her until my back was against the wall, catching my breath. She sat up in bed, confused. "Just give me a minute. You're so hot I'm finding it hard to control myself."

"But you don't need to control yourself," she flirted, slipping one of her bra straps down her shoulder.

I gulped. "Do you have a condom?" I had one; I was stalling.

An expression took over her face that I didn't recognize. "I should probably tell you something." Her tone of voice slightly softened my erection.

"What is it, babe?"

"I'm a virgin."

I blinked at her. "What?"

"I'm a virgin."

"No you're not."

She smiled, embarrassed. "Yes I am."

"I don't believe you," I said simply, because I didn't.

"You will once you feel how tight I am," she simpered, and just like that my erection back at full power. I stammered but didn't manage an intelligible response, a little embarrassed myself at the obtrusive evidence of my attraction to Isabella. "It's…not a problem, is it?" she asked, confidence teetering.

"Of course not," I said quickly, though that wasn't altogether true. "It's just that I've never taken someone's virginity before."

"Really?"

"When I lost mine I was 15 and she was 21."

"Oh." She was quiet for a moment. "So, you've been with a LOT of people, probably."

"Probably," I said with a chuckle, trying to keep the mood light. "Tonight doesn't have to be the night, sweetheart."

"But I think I want it to be."

"Do you know if you want to have BDSM or vanilla sex?"

"Vanilla?" Her face was adorable, all scrunched up in bewilderment.

"Non-BDSM."

"Oh, umm…" She let her head reunite with her pillow as she considered. I joined her on the bed, volunteering to be somewhat of the little spoon as I curled up into her side, using her breast as my pillow, her arm as my blanket. "What do you want to do?"

"It's your virginity, darling. I will tell you that I'm significantly less experienced with vanilla sex, and will most likely still be somewhat rough and dominant, that's just my personality."

She turned her face to mine and kissed me. "What if we just fool around…" She reached down and rubbed my cock again, it responding immediately to her touch, "… and you take charge to whatever extent your instincts tell you, Master Jordan."

I laughed a little in between embraces. "You are going to fall so deeply for me," I growled against her mouth. Our heads swiveled back and forth as we grappled for control. I let her overpower me for a few moments, relishing her featherweight body on top of mine, her hands pulling and petting my hair. My hands molded to the curvature of her ass, a respectable handful bearing in mind her slender frame. Her hips began bucking against my boner but I shifted my weight so she was humping my hipbone instead. I grabbed her with half my strength and flipped our positions, slapping her before she could see it coming. She cried out and I backhanded her. Self-preservation kicked in and her arms shielded her face. I waited as she slowly peeked out from behind her makeshift defense. "You okay, lovely?"

"Yes sir. You just caught me by surprise. Things were pretty vanilla there for a while."

I faltered. "You need to tell me right now what you want, Bells. I'm not a mind reader and I want your first time to be perfect."

She sighed, sitting up against the wall and pushing her hair out of her eyes. "I don't know. Maybe you're right. All of this does feel a little fast."

"And there's no rush," I pointed out.

She was quiet for a few minutes. I followed her lead and propped myself up against the wall. "I made things awkward," she mumbled, crimson migrating across her features.

I laughed. "Never, sweetheart." I kissed her. "I say, let's order some pizza and watch some crappy TV."

"You want pizza even though we had Italian for dinner?"

"No such thing as Italian too often."


	9. Chapter 9

**_Let me know what you guys think of this chapter from Alice's POV :)_**

 **NINE**

I had the house to myself. Carlisle was working the red eye shift at the hospital and the rest of the coven was hunting. I didn't need to feed: I gorged myself on three deer right before school every day in an attempt to resist the heavenly, devilish aroma of Jordan Castro's blood. I fully appreciated the term 'singer' for the first time…that human boy's blood sang a melody so otherworldly it melted my self-control into a puddle. Gym was acutely difficult for this reason: the heat of his blood circulating just beneath the skin, blushed with exertion. I fantasized about tracing my fangs along his jugular…his heartbeat thudding in my ears…sinking my teeth into the supple meat, mouth flooding with venom….

When I experienced my first vision of him —sitting in the front office with fellow new student Isabella Swan— I thought the important part was the impression I received about Bella and I eventually becoming the best of friends. But his boyish good looks stayed in my mind, and my eyes found him automatically every lunch hour, savoring every line and curve of his face like the students around me relished their food. Jasper knew about my attraction to him, although he didn't understand it. It proved impossible to hide my growing infatuation from my gifted partner. I knew it bothered him but my crush hadn't caused any true rifts in our relationship yet. Jasper calmed down after Bella and Jordan became an item. Every time I thought about it a mysterious stomachache or headache would appear.

The couple was noticeably absent at the winter dance. I asked Jessica over the punch bowl where they were, and after she overcame her astonishment at my speaking to her, informed me of their road trip to Seattle. Emmett teased me for pouting the rest of the night. Edward was the only other person who knew how I felt about Jordan, thanks to his mind reading ability. He'd censure me whenever my thoughts drifted and Jasper was out of earshot.

Monday, the first of March, boasted small flecks of snow floating on the wind, but they were hard to see against the pale clouds and descended few and far between. Like clockwork Jordan parked his bike on the sidewalk and then waited, leaning against the gate, for his girlfriend to arrive. I watched him from the Volvo, the rest of my family departing, laughing amongst themselves and slamming car doors behind them. Jordan's broad shoulders bulged as he crossed his muscular arms in front of his chest. His dirty blond hair swooped into his blue-green eyes, a smile that could break your heart on top of a jaw that could cut glass. I could barely imagine how gorgeous he would be as a vampire.

The orange beater huffed and puffed into the car lot. He strode to meet her as the engine died, opening the driver side door and offering a hand as she stepped down. They remained conjoined as Bella activated the lock on her keychain. With a sigh I blended into the sea of teenagers funneling onto campus.

High school is barely tolerable for most people the first time around. Try the 80th. I'm exaggerating a little bit, but all that changes are the places, the faces, the teachers. The curriculum was surprisingly consistent as the decades stacked on top of one another. And, in all that time, only once before had someone made such an intense impression on me, and that was Jasper.

Coach Clapp anointed Jordan to lead the stretching. I surreptitiously watched his body bend and flex out of the corner of my eye. As my gaze apprised the rest of the class I noticed I wasn't the only female aware of his beauty and fitness. I swallowed a snarl, Bella's smug face appearing behind my eyelids when I blinked. _Bitch doesn't know how lucky she is_ , I thought miserably.

"Hi," his mahogany voice purred, strolling up to me with a brilliant white smile.

His scent invaded my being and I coughed past choking on the intoxicating poison. "Hello," I chirped, embracing him, careful not to squeeze to tightly and reveal the unusual texture of my body. "How's life?"

"Can't complain. You?"

I shrugged. "Nothing new."

A queue of students marched out of the gymnasium and toward the soccer fields. Jordan jogged to the utility shed and returned with a massive bag of soccer balls over his shoulder and one he dribbled between his feet. He passed it to me with a wink before joining Coach Clapp by the goal post as a captain. The professor scanned the crowd for a second volunteer, me ducking behind Emmett's bulldozer-like frame as he was selected instead.

The playground ritual of picking teams commenced. Jordan picked Jasper and Emmett chose Rosalie. His abalone eyes flashed at me as he motioned me over, me skipping happily to his side. One by one the crowd halved between the athletes, the rounder and less enthusiastic students lasting until the end. Jordan kindly switched up his picks near the end so that Ronald Speezley wouldn't be the final choice like normal. A dollar coin was tossed to determine sides of the field, Emmett selecting the downwind goal. Jordan sprinted to the halfway mark, running in place and jumping up and down like my siblings to warm up. I tried to do the same fleetingly but felt foolish and stopped.

Coach Clapp blew a whistle, the captains charging each other, Jordan narrowly diving out of the way as Emmett plowed forward, sending the ball flying into the air. Someone on his team head butted it further down the field in their favorable direction. I hung back with Jordan, watching the teams battle it out on the far end of the grass. "Is Edward interested in Bella?" the human boy asked me, standing right behind me, startling me.

"Yes," I disclosed truthfully. I wasn't willing to lie to the beautiful boy and my brother wasn't exactly nondescript about his intentions. "It's my understanding that she's shot each of his advances down, though."

He sighed. "Unfortunately that doesn't mean the interest isn't mutual," he muttered as he chased the ball that arched past us. A human wouldn't have heard, but a vampire did easily. He stole the ball from Rosalie and passed it to me. I carried the ball to the halfway mark and kicked it to a team player in the left corner. Jordan scampered by and rewarded me with a high five, which I participated in wholeheartedly.

The final score was 2 to 3 with Jordan's team the victor. Emmett complained like a wounded grizzly bear all the way to the locker room. Rosalie was in just as bad a mood, whether affected by her paramour or her own disappointment at the loss, I couldn't say. I changed out quickly to meet Jordan outside the gym. He walked the same route at the same pace as always. I snuck up behind him and covered his eyes. He guessed me successfully, curse my cold appendages.

"I was so pissed when Emmett scored those two goals at the end. It was like he couldn't stand a blow out and he transformed into some sort of super human." I laughed, trying to disperse the notes of suspicion in his voice. "I'm serious, Al. I saw him vault over Corey Freeman who's like six foot tall at least." I laughed again, this time with more force, and then the worst case scenario happened: understanding dawned across his features. "Just like Edward," he breathed, eyes far away.

"What was that?"

Bella's scent drifted by on the breeze and I turned, watching her disappear into the cafeteria. Jordan took an abrupt right and ventured down an empty hallway. I followed him. When he spun around, the fire behind his eyes was sparking. "What's your secret, Alice?"

Dread engulfed me. "Excuse me?" I squeaked.

"What's your family's secret?" He pressed onward when I didn't answer. "All of you share the same pale, ice-cold skin and eyes that fluctuate between shades of black and gold despite the fact that you're an adoptive family. I've witnessed a lot of strange things happen in gym, from you guys switching up top speeds to Emmett's leap of faith today. AND, just as I was replaying that in my mind, I remembered my dream from last night." He paused but I was too stunned, thoughts whizzing a million miles a minute, to ask him about the reverie. "It was like a slow motion, play-by-play of the accident. Every detail happening simultaneously with my undivided attention." His intense eyes bore into me, the significance of what he was saying warping and billowing around us like an invisible energy. "Alice, he was at least four vehicles away. He moved three or four times faster than the speed the van was skidding toward Bella at. I watched the metal of the van contour around what should have been the bumper of her truck, but when I joined both of them in between the cars, the shape of the indentation was a lot bigger than that. In the dream I aligned Edward's shoulders to the dent, and guess what?"

"What?" I whispered, still biding time, trying to invent an explanation.

"It fit. Perfectly. And I know what you're thinking —that it was just a dream— but every moment occurred in the same order, I recalled Bella's outfit to the letter… truly it didn't feel like a dream at all. It was like reliving a memory at a quarter of the speed, with every camera angle available to me, rewind and fast forward." Another pause, him staring at me, expression imploring for answers. "If you don't tell me, I WILL figure it out."

"Why?" I asked quietly, panic starting to rise. "What does it matter?"

"You're hiding something from me," he said, some pain leaking into his voice.

"I can't tell you."

"Yes, you can," he said slowly, thinly. "Are you choosing not to?"

I looked around, hoping Jasper or Edward would appear, but neither did. I couldn't tell him —it wasn't just my secret— and it would endanger the entire coven. But this handsome young man was in front of me, his desire to know so sincere, the curiosity burning behind his passionate eyes. "Jordan. Please," I whispered. "I want to tell you, but I can't."

"Why?" he demanded.

"It's not just my secret!"

His features softened a little then, the slight confirmation easing his urgency. "Okay, that's fair," he said carefully. "I suppose it would be a waste of breath to tell you that I wouldn't share this information with another soul."

"Even Bella?" I asked before I could stop myself.

"Yes," he replied with dead seriousness.

My jaw rolled back and forth…undecided. "Guess. I'll tell you if you're right."

He bit his lip, leaning against the bricks and folding his arms. "Something superhuman, to explain the speed and the strength. Something… undead, maybe, because of the temperature of your skin." He scrutinized my expression. I hoped there was nothing to find. "Are you some sort of super zombie?"

A laugh burst out of me. "No."

"Mega mummy?"

"Nope."

I could almost see the calculations crunching in his head. "The eyes, golden and getting darker by the day…and there is a correlation between your brother's eye color and how he treats my girlfriend. The blacker they are, the more of an asshole he is." He nodded once and I shook my head; I gave something away in my expression, dammit. "Recently…" He tapped his chin where some black stubble, much darker than the hair on his head, was growing. "Recently we blood typed in biology, and Edward ditched." I squeezed my eyes shut, as if Jordan's impending discovery was going to strike me like a train. _I probably just sealed the coffin_ , I realized, the pun not easing my anxiety. I opened my eyes, and his held a surprising amount of kindness and understanding.

"Say it," I said. _Put me out of my misery._

"Vampire."

If I had a beating heart it would have stopped. Never before had the truth sounded so repugnant than out of this beautiful boy's mouth. In that moment, every daydream of raising children with him, growing old with him, vanished unto death. I felt the loss of each unborn child, mourned each second that his flawless human body aged. Physically I was 19, so he had more or less two years to catch up, but I wanted his perfection frozen for eternity NOW. If I was willing to sentence him to an existence as a vampire, that is. If he was willing. Overwhelmed by the situation and all my thoughts surrounding it, I fled the scene. Jordan didn't say anything or move to follow as I rushed away.

The double doors of the cafeteria swung closed behind me before I could think about where I was going. It seemed every head twisted about to investigate the late entry. I turned toward the buffet tables but already the food was gone and the kitchen staff was cleaning. A nearby vending machine partially rescued me —I paid for a sports drink— before begrudgingly crossing the space and joining my family at our table.

"Where were you? Everything okay?" Jasper asked immediately.

I tried to drown my guilt and fear in the relief at Jordan's neutral, vaguely positive response to the bomb I dropped. "Yes, of course, I just volunteered to take the soccer balls back to the utility shed for Coach Clapp."

"Can't believe Castro didn't," Emmett grumbled at his ham and cheese sandwich. "Fucking teacher's pet. Ever since that rope climb. Always leading the stretches. It's bullshit."

"You're not attributing our win to the simple fact that Jordan got to choose first, are you?" Jasper teased, simpering.

The conversation continued, my tardiness forgotten…that is, with the exception of Edward, who pointedly hadn't looked in my direction. I sighed. _It's not my fault, Edward,_ I thought at him. _He was on the verge of figuring it out anyway. He connected your interference in the crash with Emmett leaping over a student today in gym. He knew about the super strength, super speed, our varying eye colors, the temperature and texture of our skin. It was only a matter of time._ Edward stood and tossed his sandwich as he exited.

"What's eating him?" Rosalie asked.

"He's angry," Jasper said, gaze monitoring his back as he left. "Actually, he's furious."

"What the fuck?" Emmett asked, spinning in his seat.

I closed my eyes, knowing that when they opened, my family members would be gawking at me expectantly. The fortune-telling sister must know what's eating the mind-reader, right? They opened and my prediction came true…as they often do. "I'll go talk to him," I offered, scurrying away before any assents or dissents sounded.

He was waiting for me in the parking lot, glowering, pacing back and forth too quickly to be in public. I picked up my pace as I reached him, wanting to reprimand him for being so obvious, but recognizing the hypocrisy and electing to stay silent. He stopped with his back toward me, still as a statue, the only sound the squawking of birds in the distance. "So," he scathed, "what was your plan, Alice?"

The malice in his tone intimidated me. "We should've decided on a plan before."

"I thought we did!" he hissed through barred teeth. "The plan was, stay away from Bella and Jordan, they are too dangerous and we don't need the Volturi knocking down our door!"

"Okay well Jordan isn't as dense as his girlfriend, sorry!" I said, tossing my hands in the air. "It was a matter of time, Edward. He isn't going to tell anyone." God, I hoped that was true. Everything I knew about Jordan indicated he was trustworthy, a man with integrity who stood by his word, but our supernatural secret was a juicy one.

"Oh, I'll be sure of that. Problem solved; I'll just kill them both."

I rolled my eyes despite the tension of the conversation. "We both know you're beyond that, Edward." Another hopeful statement. "It started as a thirst for her blood, but it's more than that now, admit it."

He barked humorless laughter. "Look. Who's. Talking." He advanced a step into my personal bubble with each word. I sensed my own temper rising but fought it down. More emotion would only escalate things. He abruptly withdrew, his attention preoccupied somewhere behind me. "He's coming."

"Who?" I asked stupidly.

"Castro."

I didn't confirm this announcement: the tightening of every muscle in Edward's body was confirmation enough. "Don't kill him, Edward," I told him firmly, turning to meet our interrupter. I intercepted Jordan half way across the parking lot from the silver Volvo. He smiled at me in greeting but his eyes kept locked on my brother. "He's angry. Please don't come any closer. He's dangerous." Jordan said something dismissive, trying to maneuver around me, but I stepped in his way each time. "I'm serious, Jordan, he hasn't hunted in four days."

"Oh yeah? THAT EXPLAINS THE BLACK EYES, THEN!"

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes again: he certainly didn't need to shout. "Jordan, can we go, please? Anywhere you want. We should leave now —it's really for the best."

"So you're going with him, then?" Edward called from the driver's seat of the car.

I hesitated for a fraction of a second —not long enough for Jordan's human perception to register— before calling back, "Yes, so you can calm down. Break the news to Carlisle and Esme. I'll be back tonight to feel their wrath." Another mirthless laugh before he peeled out of the parking lot. I leaned against a nearby car, exhausted from the exchange, and the alarm sounded, making me jump out of my skin.

"Hey," Jordan said gently, holding me by my elbows as I steadied myself. "I'm sorry if I'm causing problems. But I wouldn't have stopped searching. I would've figured it out eventually."

"I know."

"Do you want to come over? Get out of the house for a while?" His gaze drifted to the exit as if the Volvo were still at the stop sign. "I don't want you to be in trouble."

"It's too late for that. Besides, I didn't actually tell you, you guessed."

We boarded his bike, a 2014 VXR scooter, the music of silence accompanying us as we twisted and turned through the wet laneways. The human boy pointed out his girlfriend's house as we rode past, probably just to make conversation, perhaps as a mental note to himself to let Bella know where he was before the end of the school day. No vehicles occupied the driveway we banked into, a fact I wasn't sure to be elated or worried about. _He has a girlfriend, he won't try anything_ , I told myself. Deep down, however, it wasn't him I was apprehensive about.


	10. Chapter 10

_**Happy Valentine's Day!**_

 _ **In honor of the holiday, here is another chapter from Alice's POV :)**_

 _ **A few updates ago I revised the story summary to include drug use under its Mature rating. This is the first, but by all means not the last, chapter where that heads up is relevant. I am writing this piece primarily to entertain myself, so it may at times come across as self-indulgent, I am aware and unapologetic LOL**_

 _ **YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED**_

 _ **If drug use offends you please do not read as that is not my intention; at the same time, I urge you to not report this story as I've read the guidelines and I am not breaking any rules.**_

 _ **Enjoy and remember to leave your thoughts at the end!**_

 **TEN**

He opened the door for me and I stepped into a house of average size with average furnishings: a sofa, an arm chair, a fireplace, a rather large television. We continued into the kitchen where Jordan offered me chips or soda, which of course I declined, saving a joke about catching a rabbit or squirrel outside. Too soon. He fetched Hot Cheetos and water for himself as we ambled upstairs.

His room was messy, but not that bad since he was a teenage boy. A single bed with a navy blue comforter was pushed against the wall with an open window, a black desk with a fancy laptop occupied half his closet while clothes hung along the other half, and a full length mirror was attached to the back of his door. I sank into a green bean bag next to a smallish dresser. He closed the door behind him and knelt in front of the dresser, pulling out the bottom drawer, revealing a tiny plastic bong and a glass jar with a few leafy nugs rolling around. "Do you smoke?" he asked, shaking the container at me. "I need to chill out —Edward got me keyed up."

I smiled and shook my head, but recollecting the afternoon, I decided to tell the truth. "I can. But then I would get the munchies."

"So?" He now shook the dusty red chips at me.

"What do vampires eat, Jordan?"

His face fell. "Oh," he said simply. He shoved some Cheetos in his mouth, which was a lot better than his foot. I saved him some face by liberating my biology homework and starting to fashion the flash cards required. He hastily gathered his smoking supplies and copied suit. "So…just to confirm…" he began after a spell. "You and your family are vampires?"

"Yes."

"Do you feed on humans?"

"No. That's why our eyes are gold. They'd be red if we did."

He nodded thoughtfully, returning to the vocabulary cards. I tried my best to concentrate but my heart wasn't in it. What was he thinking? What was my family thinking? I scribbled the terms and their definitions, my nose in the biology textbook. The silence didn't seem to bother my partner who worked alongside me with the same degree of diligence. He lit the greens, igniting the bowl in a crescent shape, inhaling a deep breath after clearing the piece and leaning backward. His eyes closed as his head found the pillow…holding his breath…Jesus, for ages… "Breathe!" I said, smacking his leg. His eyelids fluttered open as he smiled at me, smoke spiraling out from his nostrils.

"This is some goooood shit," he laughed.

"What strain?"

"LA Confidential, left over from Los Angeles. My best friend there bought me an ounce before I left. Fuck, I need to call that nigga back." He took another rip and repeated the motions, this time not exhaling until he was blue in the lips. "Sometimes I can make myself pass out." He said that with pride, as if it were something to be happy about. "Gets me hella fucked up, I see shit when I go unconscious, and it takes me a bit to remember where I am…plus it boosts me up like 2 points in highness." He packed another bowl. With my enhanced eyesight I could see the microscopic trichomes glinting in the sunlight. I finished the vocab cards as he concluded his smoke session, replacing his equipment inside the cupboard. I pinched my sinuses when I remembered the family meeting that most likely awaited me at home. "You're stressed out," he said. I looked up and saw his transparently perceptive eyes flashing back at me.

"I don't know what I'm walking into when I go home."

"You could just…not go home."

I weighed the prospect in my mind. It was procrastinating, really. Putting off the inevitable. But at the same time, the extra time might allow tempers to cool —Edward's and Jasper's, that is. Carlisle and Esme would understand if not be disappointed…at least I hoped. "How would your girlfriend feel about that?"

"She doesn't need to know."

I bit my lip. I didn't enjoy dishonesty. "That means she wouldn't like it."

"Probably not," he conceded, "but what she doesn't know won't hurt her." He joined me back on the bed and lobbed an arm over my shoulders. I shrugged him off out of habit and instantly regretted it. "Sorry," he mumbled.

"No, I'm sorry. I'm just used to avoiding physicality with humans."

"Because you'll _eat them_?" he asked, disturbed and horrified.

I laughed. "No, so they don't notice my rock hard ice cold skin." I initiated putting my arm around his shoulders, which proved to be no easy task, his shoulders broad and my arm's proportionally short.

"What else can you tell me about vampires?"

I traced my fingers along his collarbone as I thought about it. "We're immortal. Only way to make sure we're dead is to rip off our heads —the other limbs too, probably, for good measure— and burn it all. There are such things as 'vegetarians': we feed off deer, mountain lions, bears. A group of vampires is called a coven. Some vampires have special abilities. For example, Edward can read minds."

"What?" he laughed. "No wonder he doesn't like me."

I smiled. "We don't age or grow. We're basically frozen in stone at the moment of transformation. The venom changes our skin, perfects our appearances, which is to make us more attractive to humans obviously. Our throats burn constantly —that's annoying at first— but you get used to it. Unless you befriend your singer," I finished with a laugh.

"Singer?"

"There are certain humans whose blood is said to 'sing' to a specific vampire." I inhaled deeply out of reflex, and wafted in Jordan's sweet, sweet scent, making my throat scream with thirst. "It's a tantalizing experience that many comb the planet for. They would savor each second of sucking the lifeblood until the body was empty and dry." I checked his expression —raised eyebrows— and chose not to share that he was indeed my singer. I didn't want to scare the shit out of him.

"Interesting," he said. "Have you found your singer?"

Oh boy. "Are you sure you want to know?"

"Yes."

I checked his expression again and he was smirking. He already knew. "Don't make me say it," I said, suddenly embarrassed.

"Alice," he commanded in a deep and authoritative voice. "Tell me what I already know."

Wow. His assertion made me feel weird…a pleasurable strange…and the hardness behind his eyes rendered me powerless to say no. "You're my singer, Jordan," I breathed.

He bit his lip. "Lucky guess on my part," he said, I think in an effort to distract me as one of his hands rearranged himself. I hid a smile behind my hand. Apparently he found my response as arousing as his demand. "What does my blood smell like?"

I scooted closer to him and sniffed him an inch away from his neck, his skin radiating like the sun next to my face, and I picked apart the different notes as venom flooding my mouth. "It's a mixture of your cologne, natural aroma, the scent of your blood, and the weed. Your cologne is clean and bright, your natural aroma is woodsy, the weed is skunky, and the scent of your blood…is like the sweetest wine."

"Wow," he purred, angling his head down, our faces impossibly close together. "It must be difficult to resist the temptation."

Goodness. "I have a lot of practice," I whispered, "but spending time with you has been a new challenge."

"You've shared a lot of secrets with me today. Maybe I should tell you one."

"Please do."

He sighed. "I think you already know."

"Absolutely not."

"Really?"

"Absolutely."

"Oh." He blinked, perplexed. "I can't tell you, then."

"What?!"

He smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry, I really can't tell you, I thought you knew."

I poked him in the chest. "Well, you're looking at Nancy Drew! If you can uncover my skeletons than I'm sure I can figure out yours." I sat up because the burn was getting too intense. "Okay, I need to decide if I'm spending the night."

"I vote yes," he said, laying back, folding his hands behind his head, and propping one foot on his other knee. "We don't have to share the same bed… unless you want to."

"Stop it." I turned my back to him, grateful I wasn't able to blush. Downstairs I heard the front door open and close, the sound of keys sliding across a tile counter, an adult male and an adult female talking together. "Your parents are home. Shall we go introduce myself?"

"Not yet," he decided. "We'll do it at dinner. It'll stress my mom out and she's hilarious when she's mad."

"That doesn't sound like the best idea…"

"It's a great idea. You'll see."

We read Great Expectations together to kill time until dinner and get ahead in class. Soon the fragrance reached Jordan's room: robust tomato chili. "That smells so good I almost wish I could digest food."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that. We'll just tell them you ate before or had a late lunch." He cocked his head thoughtfully at me. "How old are you?"

"Nineteen," I answered automatically.

He smiled. "How long have you been nineteen?"

"I was born in 1901, so…"

"1920," he finished with another smile. "Fascinating. Does anyone else in your family have a special ability like Edward?"

"I have visions of the future."

"What! That's insane," he said. "Did you have a vision of me before we met?"

"Yes."

"Wow, really crazy, fucking awesome. Can you control them or do they happen randomly?"

"A little of both. I can focus on someone but it's no guarantee anything will come through. Also, people change their minds, so sometimes the predictions don't come exactly true."

"Try to predict what I'll wear tomorrow."

I sat back on the bed, closing my eyes, holding Jordan's face suspended in the black space. Color began to trickle in, creating a scene that advanced from the background to the forefront.

 _He was standing in front of a closet, half-concealed by mirror-plated doors on a track. A white towel hung loosely around his hips, his exposed body revealing an 8-pack of abs, contoured chest and deltoids, as well as the hollows of his collarbone. He thumbed through the hangers of tops…his wardrobe was color coded and separated between tank tops, T-shirts, long sleeves, and hoodies. His taste migrated from black to gray to white to blue to red to green…he plucked a purple, gray, and black horizontally striped long-sleeve shirt. He moved to his dresser, pulling out the bottom drawer and weighing gray jeans versus black jeans against each other. In the end the black pants won out, adorned by a black-and-white checkerboard studded belt and all-black high tops._

My body jolted as my consciousness collided back with the present moment. I gasped, grabbing Jordan's knee, vision blurred until my pupils refocused. I blinked a few times, grinning, wishing he would've dropped his towel. "You're going to wear a purple, gray, and black long sleeve thermal with blank jeans, a black-and-white checkered belt, and black high-tops."

He nodded, impressed. "I was thinking ahead and that's what I was thinking."

"JORDAN! DINNER!" his mother caterwauled from downstairs.

"It's show time," he said, winking.

I trailed him downstairs, dithering in the hallway, nervous about Miriam's reaction to an unplanned dinner guest. With a deep breath I turned the corner, seeing Miriam and Quincy Castro for the first time. Jordan's father was tall and slight, his tight collared shirt hinting at muscles underneath, and a mop of dirty blonde hair atop his head. It was obvious Jordan got his frame from his father, minus some of the height (which I was grateful for, I already felt like a midget next to him), and his looks from his mother. Miriam was tall as well, maybe four inches shorter than her husband, with long beach blonde hair styled in a lazy bun, Jordan's fiery eyes, and straight white teeth. Her face teetered between rage, shock, and politeness. "Jordan, I see you brought a guest," she said tightly.

"Mom, this is Alice. Alice, may I introduce Miriam and Quincy Castro!"

"Hello, young lady," his father greeted, shaking my hand. "You have cold hands."

"Sorry about that, I was sitting on the window sill upstairs," I said quickly, plunging my hands in my pockets, noting that his dad shared Jordan's aptitude for observation. "I also apologize for not letting you know I would be joining you. Jordan said it would be fine."

"Of course he did," Miriam said sweetly, a hollow smile spreading across her face. "I hope you like crab legs. My Q Bear secured a contract to facilitate a photo shoot of parts of the Calawah River and Mount Olympus for the next six weeks."

"Congratz Dad!" Jordan said, clapping him on the shoulder as he maneuvered around him. "Funfact, crab legs is probably my favorite meal. Too bad Alice ate before she came over."

"You brought a guest to dinner that's already eaten?" she repeated through pursed lips.

Uh oh. "I can eat, don't worry, it was just a granola bar."

That seemed to calm Miriam down as her smile melted into sincerity. She used a pair of silver tongs to distribute us a claw each to start as Quincy passed out crackers and a thin silver pick for scooping out the stubborn bits of meat. Jordan's pupils dilated with hunger as his meal and utensils were presented to him. I resisted the temptation to rest my hand on his nearest knee. _He's not yours to touch_ , I reminded myself.

I equipped my cracker, although it was a lot more unwieldy to use than breaking open the legs myself, but I didn't want to draw attention. I chewed long and slowly, enjoying the sweetness of the shellfish, wishing my saliva ducts still worked to lubricate my mouth. Silence rolled into the dining room like a fog as everyone dove into dinner with enthusiasm. Jordan chewed with his mouth open as he practically inhaled crab. Though the sound irritated me I found the bad habit endearing.

"How was your trip to Seattle with Bella?" Miriam asked, swirling and sniffing a glass of champagne, the alcohol boosting her into better spirits.

"It was a lot of fun," her son replied, setting aside his plate for the moment. "The drive was long and I hate driving on the freeway with the VXR—"

"I told you we can take out a lease to get you a nice car," his father interrupted. "You could be cruising around in a new black convertible next week for $400 a month."

Jordan groaned. "A) My bike is barely two years old, that would definitely be a waste, B) I need a job before I could afford $400 a month, and C) I'd get a green motorcycle if anything." He stabbed a chunk of crab with his fork and drowned it in butter. "Anyways, as I was saying, the drive was a drag but we went out to a very nice, very reasonable Italian restaurant called The Sicilian. We checked into our room at a Motel 8 around 9:30 or 10:00pm. Then we fucked all night."

Quincy spit out his water as Miriam exclaimed a sound of disapproval. "Jordan! Mind your language at the dinner table, please." He laughed, surreptitiously winking at me, my body responding accordingly, curse my girlish weakness.

"Yes Ma'am." After dinner Jordan and I returned to his room. I laid on top of his comforter as he stooped and salvaged his bong and drugs. "Do you judge me for how often I smoke? I mean, it's at least an every other day thing."

"Not at all. My family has a few potheads."

One of his eyebrows clawed at the ceiling. "That's a surprise. Who?"

"Guess," I said, a smirk playing on my lips.

"You?" he tried hopefully.

"Not exactly," I admitted. "Once and awhile. I enjoy feeling high but everything about the experience is intensified as a vampire which makes the munchies —aka the burn in my throat— so much more infuriating than you could imagine."

"Wow…that sucks," he said candidly, lighting a bowl. "What would be the nearest animal to my room that you could drink from?"

"Do you have any pets?"

"Ha ha!" He leaned forward and high fived me. "Yes I do, a Bengal cat named Shere Khan, little guy should be around here somewhere. He's pretty shy when people he doesn't know are over."

"To answer your question, I can hear a den of bunnies about 12 meters from the border of the forrest. Beyond them there are four dear: a grown male, an adolescent stag, a doe and a fawn. If I were to smoke I'd feed on at least both adults. If I were to smoke a lot, I'd easily drain all of them."

"What if you took one hit?" he asked, offering the green water pipe to me with a new batch of greens packed in the bowl piece.

I shook my head, my red curls bouncing in my peripheral vision. I recanted, "Not greens —that'll hit me too hard."

"I insist. Just one snapper. You can do it. I want to see you hunt."

 _That's not a good idea_ , the voice of reason echoed inside my brain, the rest of my consciousness jumping to stifle it. "Fine to the hit," I said, receiving the piece, "but I don't think you should see me hunt —at least not yet."

"Why?" he whined.

"Because my features change. I become a predator. It isn't pretty: it's frightening."

"I can handle it."

I sighed obligingly. "The other part is I'm not sure if, once in hunting mode, that I'll be able to restrain myself from you."

Jordan wriggled his eyebrows at me. "Sexually?"

I smacked him and he winched. It occurred to me belatedly I should've censured my strength to a greater degree. My strike was likely the equivalent of throwing a rock at his arm. "No, my singer…your blood."

"Ah," he said in comprehension. "Take that drag, bong hog." I stuck my tongue out at him before doing so. The leaves ignited easily, the acrid fumes expanding in my lungs, the first hiccups of a cough making my body buck. "Don't cough, don't cough!" I shook my head at him, laughing and subsequently inducing myself into a coughing fit. I tightened all my muscles, hoping to not cough up the crab yet, and just barely managed to swallow it back. "Wow. That's not going to be worth it."

"Check yourself before you wreck yourself, girl. This is LA Confidential —4.2 rating on , it makes you relaxed, euphoric, happy, sleepy, and uplifted. It alleviates stress, pain, depression, muscle spasms, and insomnia. However, I warn you to expect hella dry mouth, a little bit of dry eyes, and a small percentage of people experience dizziness, paranoia, and anxiety."

"My eyes are lubricated with venom so I don't think the pot will affect that. Same with my mouth: no saliva."

"Lucky you," he jested. "Feel it yet? It's known for being fast-acting."

"Yes, actually." My vision had gone fuzzy around the edges and my body felt warm. I did find the smell of marijuana pleasant as well as the piney taste on my palate. Jordan cleared what was supposed to be my snapper and did his routine of laying back, closing his eyes, and holding his breath for an impossibly long time before exhaling through his nose, both techniques he claimed got him higher. We talked about nothing and everything as he continued to smoke and I took two other rips as soon as I felt the funniness fade. "It's getting late," I realized, my cellphone displaying midnight.

"I thought you were going to sleep over?"

"Bella would murder us both if she ever found out."

"She's not going to find out. Plus it's not like we're going to do anything."

Disappointment flickered somewhere in the back of my mind, resulting in a wave of guilt. I smiled at Jordan to mask this play of emotion. "Let me call Edward and let him know." I returned my attention to the iphone and selected the appropriate contact. It rang twice before a click ended the chimes.

"Hello?"

"Hi, it's Alice. I just wanted to let you know I won't be coming home tonight."

"Where are you?"

I glanced at Jordan, athletic body sprawled out on his bed, dirty blonde hair pushed out of his blue-green eyes, smiling brilliantly at me. "I'm hunting," I fibbed.

"Liar," he hissed. "Where are you, Alice? It wouldn't be difficult to find you."

He was right. "I'm at Jordan Castro's place."

"What the fuck are you doing there?"

"Homework."

"It's midnight!"

"What can I say, there's a shit ton." Jordan took a bong rip.

"Are you going to spend the night?"

"That's the plan."

A silence extended from the other line. "Isabella Swan wouldn't be happy to hear about this."

"Mind your own business, Edward, and don't you dare fucking threaten me." I hung up, panic rising up in my body, and I started to pace to expel the anxiety. "He was still angry. He hinted that he might tell Bella."

The beautiful boy's face fell. "Well, let me call her. Beat him to the punch." His cellphone was dead so I handed him mine. He lifted it to his model-like face, drumming his fingers against his knee as he awaited his girlfriend's answer. "Hi Bella, its Jordan, calling from Alice's phone. She came over to do homework and we lost track of time so instead of taking her home on the scooter in the sleet, she's going to spend the night; I hope that's okay. Let me know if there's an issue and I'll pay for an Uber or something. Thanks sweetheart, have a good rest of your night." He handed the device back to me.

"Voicemail?"

"No, I just wouldn't let her get a word in."

I giggled and shook my head at him. After one last bowl, which finished off the stash that had been in his glass jar, he returned the paraphernalia. He asked if I was tired and I explained that vampires didn't sleep. He offered to turn on the TV or set me up with Netflix which I declined, opting instead to read a novel that I kept in my knapsack for recreation. I asked if I could lie next to him on the bed and was excitedly surprised when he said yes. I crawled next to him, sharing a pillow with that heavenly head of hair, and he sat up briefly to switch off the light. My sight adjusted in the same instant, still able to fully appreciate every detail of my infatuation's face as he reunited it next to mine.

Bravery overcame me as I lifted my hand and pushed his hair back out of his eyes. "I like your hair like this. You should style it like that more often."

"Why do you like it?"

"Because then everyone can see those stellar eyes of yours."

He smiled, his teeth seemingly glowing in the dark with how white they were. "Oh, I'm sorry, I realized you wanted to read as I slept." I gently pushed him back down when he tried to sit up again, hand flush against his chest. "I can see in the dark."

"Ah," he said, impressed. "Well, goodnight, Alice. Feel free to wake me up if you get bored or smoke some of my weed —there are three or four other containers in there. I'd recommend Jack Herer… makes me giggly and hella creative, I wrote like ten pages in an hour once on that dank dope."

"Sleep well and sweet dreams, handsome."

He winked at me before rolling over and pulling the blanket and sheets over his shoulder. I watched as his body rose and fell…rose and fell…his breath slowing as the minutes ticked by. I waited until I was positive he was asleep before closing the distance between us, snaking one arm underneath our joint pillow, the other across his side. He mumbled something in his sleep —adorable. I endured the heat radiating from his body, the sound of his blood sloshing through his veins, and the agony in my throat for nearly two hours before needing to release the beautiful boy and hunt. I found the family of deer sleeping in a meadow clearing and killed them all within the same instant, taking my time in draining the carcasses. Much like filling a car with gasoline, the slower I drink, the more blood versus air is sucked into my body. After washing up in a stream I crawled back through Jordan's window. He was still fast asleep, now snoring lightly. I sighed with longing as I regained my position cuddling him. He grunted a happy noise, his hand finding mine, resting atop it. I closed my eyes and allowed myself contentment.


	11. Chapter 11

_**Hello everyone, thank you for waiting so patiently for this next chapter. I've started composing the beginnings of a novel so updates may be fewer and farther between as I split my time between both prompts. This is another lighter chapter, and its short, but you guys have the beach trip to La Push to look forward to next!**_

 _ **Don't forget to leave a review when you're done :)**_

 **ELEVEN**

I waited at the gates to campus for Jordan Castro, positively livid. After receiving a random phone call at 12:00am that woke me up, Edward called me shortly after, disclosing that his sister Alice was spending the night at my boyfriend's house. I was unable to sleep the rest of the evening, haunted by nightmares of Jordan fucking the pixie-like Cullen…the worst of them involving him dominating her using BDSM. Beyond anger, I felt betrayed. My woman's intuition told me Alice was interested but I let him pursue a friendship with her anyway. I wouldn't be so stupid again, and he was sentenced to the dog house for at least a month.

He waved at me congenially after he parked his bike but I scowled at him in response. He swaggered up to me and leaned in to kiss me but I turned my face so his lips planted the smooch on my cheek. "Hey, what's up, grumpy cakes?" he asked.

"I think you know perfectly well what's wrong."

His face fell. "Did you not get my voicemail until this morning or something?"

"What?"

"I left you a voicemail last night asking if it was okay if Alice slept over."

"Well, I never got a voicemail. I got woken up by a number I didn't recognize but that's it."

"That was me calling from Alice's phone. I left a voicemail asking permission for her to spend the night. I'm sorry that you're upset."

"I am upset. You knew I would be upset."

He bit his lip. "You're right."

"Did you sleep in the same bed?"

"No," he said quickly. A beat passed. "Yes."

My nose stung as my eyes began to water. I spun on my heel and stormed away as tears began to spill over my attempts to hold them back. As I reached my desk within the English classroom I resented Jordan and my's mutual schedules for the first time. He looked apologetic but wisely didn't try to talk to me as he sat down. The rest of the school day passed in a blur, the blur of my waterworks that is. Jordan put his arm around my waist at the lunch table and I let him, but only because I already missed him terribly. How could he possibly think a sleepover with another girl would be okay? I didn't ask if anything inappropriate transpired…mostly because I didn't want to know.

"Do you have plans with Alice today or do you want to start making it up to me?" I asked as we entered the parking lot.

"The latter, please."

He led the way to my house. Charlie wasn't home from work yet. Upstairs Jordan slung his backpack off in the corner and sat on my bed. I copied suit and crawled up next to him, our arms wrapping around each other naturally, my head coming to rest on his taut pectoral muscle. We enjoyed a quiet moment together…the only sound our heartbeats, just a stutter out of step with each other. "I'm sorry, baby," he whispered against my collarbone, nuzzling into my side. "Nothing happened between us. I hope that goes without saying. I want you to trust me."

"I do trust you," I said slowly, "and I assumed nothing happened, and you're lucky nothing did. But in the future, while I appreciate you trying to get ahold of me and secure my permission, please don't follow through with anything like that before talking to me first."

"You got it, sweetheart. I'm sorry again. I feel horrible."

I combed through his shag with a spare hand, smiling kindly at him. "I forgive you, my good-looking boyfriend. Kiss me babe." He lifted his body up to the extent he could. I arched mine over his, dangling my lips a centimeter above his, giggling as he strained. After he whimpered imploringly I showed him mercy, dipping my head and uniting our mouths, relishing the texture of his stubble against my face. As often as we embraced, no two smooches with Jordan Castro were alike, a phenomena I attributed to the number of romantic partners he'd been with before we met, a number I didn't desire to speculate at. The warmness and softness of his body, increasing as he discarded articles of clothing, melted away any remaining negativity I was harboring from the events of last night. His hands snuck underneath my shirt and wriggled it over my head. I unfastened my bra and smushed my breasts against his chest before he got a chance to look at them. I rolled onto my back, us continuing to kiss, as Jordan stripped to his underwear. I secretly slinked out of my panties so when we broke apart, my boyfriend gasped in elated surprise. My shaven cunt glistened in the dying sunlight slanting in from the window. "You are going to eat me out until I tell you that you can come up for air."

He laughed delightedly. "Yes ma'am," he answered with a wink. He army-crawled down the bed and I scooted up so my legs spread off the bed as he knelt on the carpet, burying his beautiful face in my pussy. I relaxed as best I could into my pillow, never before getting this far sexually with a boy and knowing I sometimes had trouble clearing my mind when masturbating.

Turns out there was nothing to worry about. Jordan's tongue swirled and flicked my sleek folds, my boyfriend proving he was skilled at pleasuring both pairs of a woman's lips. What made the encounter all the more affecting was the vigor with which he ate me out. It was as if he was a drowning man and my wetness was his air. He poked his head up when Charlie's patrol car pulled into the driveway but I shoved him back into his place. I scraped up a fistful of sheets to muffle my screams. Spurred on by new urgency, he sucked on the swollen nub that was my clit, licking up and down my slit rapidly at the same time. Another thirty seconds passed as he tipped me over the edge, both of my hands holding his face in place as I came _hard_ inside his mouth. My entire body bucked back and forth, the ecstasy throttling my existence for everything I was worth. Then, all at once, everything faded to black.

When my eyelids fluttered open, I could tell by the lighting that it was morning. It startled me when I discovered Jordan asleep in my bed, murmuring incoherently in his slumber. I got to my feet and dressed in a pair of black pants and a baggy band t-shirt. I was in the bathroom applying makeup when my boyfriend arose and waltzed in, a log of morning wood leading the way.

"Does Charlie know you spent the night?"

"Yes. I explained you weren't feeling well at dinner and wanted to catch up on some rest. He was fine with me staying over."

"That's amazing. You must have truly charmed the pants off him."

"As I recall, that was you yesterday, love."

I splashed water from the sink at him. He ducked back into my bedroom to dress for the day. I offered him his choice of my wardrobe as many of my outfits were androgynous in style. When I finished my face I found him rocking my gray pair of sweats, a green Phoenix hoodie, and his white high top Nikes from yesterday. His erection had left the building, a fact I was disappointed about. I really felt ready to make love to him. I don't know what had gotten in the way. Well, I do: he had slapped me twice, and while he'd done so before, the abrupt transition caught me off guard. If only there was a word to tell him to pause, that everything was alright, that I enjoyed what he was doing, only to slow down….

I vocalized my question as he organized the remainder of his things. "That's a safe word," he explained. "I've never used one in my previous relationships, but you can certainly have one if you like." He asked what word I wanted and I replied that it didn't matter to me. "What about 'vampire'?" he vouched with a smirk.

"I don't get it."

"Nevermind," he said dismissively, making me feel excluded from an inside joke that soared over my head. "What about 'pepperoni'?"

"Okay."

We kissed for almost twenty minutes before Charlie pounded on the door, saying there were two bowls of Wheaties for us downstairs and we needed to leave within five minutes if we didn't want to be late. Both of us flew to the table, tossed back the cereal like shots of liquor, and sailed out the door. The last bell sounded as Jordan parked his bike. "Fuck!" he cursed, hurling his helmet at the cement, the ice causing it to ricochet back, narrowly missing his face. "Jesus Christ. God damn it. Sorry, Bells. Fuck."

"Shh baby," I cooed, cradling his head as he elected to sit on the curb. "Shouldn't we head to class?"

"Let's ditch. The final test on Great Expectations is tomorrow so all they'll be doing is reviewing anyway." He searched for something in the pocket of the hoodie before showing off a large, thick blunt. "Let's smoke this!"

I was aware Jordan smoked weed —he'd cracked a joke during the first week of knowing each other and disclosed the fact of his frequent use. I didn't mind, exactly, but I'd never spent time with him high to my knowledge, and I certainly hadn't ever smoked myself. "Put that away! There are security guards on campus, Jordan."

"Not in the woods," he pointed out, beginning to saunter backwards in that direction. "C'mon, sweetheart. Follow me. Here, girl." He whistled. "Heel, dog." I blushed and jogged to his side. "Good girl," he praised, scratching me behind the ear, and I barked quietly in gratitude. "Good dog. I apologize again for not establishing a safe word with you before our first time playing together. It would have been the first part of your training."

"I believe you, sir." It made much more sense that Jordan got caught up in the heat of the moment during our first few interactions than him not caring about my comfort level during our foreplay. If that were the case, he would've pressured me that night at the hotel.

I acted as his shadow as we blazed a trail into the thicket, stepping over the same fallen branches and stumbling into the same moss-covered rocks. Forks was a sharp contrast to Phoenix in that I could hear wildlife all around us: the scurrying of squirrels, screams from birds of prey circling above the canopy, even twigs snapping underfoot a larger animal somewhere in the distance. The way Jordan bobbed and weaved between the trees, grabbing and swinging on the branches, made him look like some sort of forest dweller himself. We walked until I judged us far enough away from Forks High School and then we both settled atop adjacent tree stumps. He pivoted the blunt between his lips as he turned his pockets inside out, presumably seeking a lighter. A blue one emerged from his back pocket and it required both of us working together, forming a shelter against the gusty breeze with cupped hands, to get the joint lit. Jordan dragged from the doobie until his eyes slanted shut, extending his arm in my direction as the smoke escaped his teeth.

"I don't know…. What's it like?"

"It'll make all your muscles relax. I like it because I can only think of one thing at a time. Let's see… well, everything is funnier. Music sounds better, food tastes better, time passes all wonky: five minutes feels like an hour and something that happened an hour before seems like it was thirty seconds ago. Just try it. Most people don't even get high their first time."

I eyed the smoldering length warily. The smoke itched my nose, like cooking hot peppers, taunting me to cough before I even inhaled any. With trepidation I received the burning baton, instantly intimidated by its unexpected weight. Jordan pantomimed hitting the blunt and I exhaled deeply, brought the marijuana to my lips, and drew the exhaust into my lungs. Of course I nearly coughed up a lung —that was unavoidable. It's difficult to describe but I felt a warm tingling starting in my nose, spreading inch by inch across my face…down my neck, my spine…following each limb to the digits at the end. It felt as if my body was vibrating gold from the inside out. "Wow."

"You feel it?"

"I feel something."

"Good!"

For the next twenty minutes the blunt bounced between us like a pinball. After three or four tokes my throat couldn't endure any more. My ears felt clogged and my depth perception had gone to shit. Jordan was laughing at something he'd said, pinching the still-alight roach in between his teeth, sucking the rest of the doobie's worth. He stomped it out on top of the stump as he stood. I blushed as he swaggered toward me, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. He pressed his body against me, my head around his eye line, and growled, "Bark." I obeyed. "Louder, we're in the forest. And don't stop until I tell you." I barked and barked, loud as I dared, adding some whimpers and yips when inspired. I slowly noticed Jordan's dick engorging and pressing insistently against my leg…it was very hot. He snickered, pleasant and low, wrapping me up in a giant hug. "You may stop."

"Thank you, Master, and thank you for the opportunity to amuse you." His cock twitched. I smiled —being a slave was so exquisitely satisfying. "Alright, now that my vertigo is nonexistent let's get to class. Not down for ditching all day."

"Anything you say, Miss Swan."


	12. Chapter 12

_**Today is March 10th, 2016 at this point in the past, which also means its my 21st birthday! :D**_

 _ **HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MEEEEEE**_

 _ **In honor of**_ **this** ** _holiday, here is the latest installment of_** ** _A Vision of Love_** ** _._**

 **TWELVE**

Newton's Olympic Outfitters was just north of town. In the parking lot I recognized Mike's Suburban and Tyler's Sentra. I pulled up in between them and spotted the group standing around in front of the entrance. Eric was there, talking with two other boys I had class with; I was fairly sure their names were Ben and Conner. Jess was there, flanked by Angela and Lauren, and three other girls stood with them. I dismounted my bike and after the chorus of greetings skirted to the outside of the circle, keeping an eye out for my girlfriend.

"You came!" Mike sounded from behind me. "And I said it would be sunny today, didn't I?" I turned around and witnessed Bella undergo the same ritual of hellos and hugs.

"I told you I was coming," she reminded him. After maneuvering around the loitering students she walked into my embrace. I squeezed her tightly, hand on the back of her head, cooing softly into her hair when she told me she missed me.

"I miss you too, beautiful. Every moment we're apart and each thought I have of us parting ways."

She pulled away just enough to kiss me. The group was halved by 'aww's of adoration and groans of disgust. I raised my eyebrows in surprise when she intensified her kiss with tongue, but I matched her enthusiasm gladly. "We're just waiting for Lee and Samantha," Mike said pointedly somewhere behind us. I responded with a thumbs up. Once we separated Mike was magically on Bella's other side. "Will you ride in my car? It's that or Lee's mom's minivan."

"Are there enough seats for us both?" she asked, body still curled into my side, hand on my chest and shoulders tucked beneath my arm. I sent up a prayer of gratitude that Isabella Swan was my girlfriend. She was kind, intelligent, willing to try new things, and perfectly imperfect. I tried to slide my hand onto her ass but she moved it to the small of her back. I considered asserting my authority but chose to respect her comfort instead. No one ever accused me of being a cruel Master.

"You can have shotgun," he promised, dodging the question entirely. My eyebrows reached for the sky once more. Porcupine was feeling fucking brave today. I noticed Jessica, standing behind Mike, glower at Bella. I soothed the rage monster that reared its head. _She's harmless. Bella won't end up sitting shotgun anyway._

The numbers worked out in our favor. Lee brought two extra people and suddenly every seat was necessary. Lee squeezed in the front with Mike and Jessica —the curly-haired girl's mood markedly improved as forecasted— while Bella and I shared the second row with Samantha. The redhead reminded me of an ex-girlfriend named Saraphina who was almost as kinky as me. We participated in group sex at least a dozen times and I'd even let her dominate me every once and awhile. My dick stirred at the reverie and my submissive covered it with her hand before I could do so. She tried to decipher the thoughts behind my eyes but I just smiled back at her.

I was glad I had the window seat. It was only fifteen miles to La Push from Forks with gorgeous, dense green forests edging the road most of the way and the wide Quillayute River snaking beneath it twice. We'd rolled the windows down —the Suburban was a bit claustrophobic with nine people in it— and savored the sunlight on my face. When I closed my eyes, Saraphina's face appeared, so similar to the even similarly-named Samantha. There had even been a woman that bartended at the same restaurant Saraphina did, Maria, who we grew quite close to and at one time weighed the pros and cons of asking her to join our relationship. In the end she ended up meeting a doctor from Jamaica and the last time we caught up, they were still seeing each other. However, the memory brought with it a seed of an idea.

Bella recounted visiting the beaches around La Push many times during her Forks summers with Charlie, and pointed out the mile-long crescent of First Beach to me as it appeared on the horizon. The water was dark gray, even in the sunlight, white-capped and heaving to the rocky shore. Islands rose out of the steel harbor waters with sheer cliff sides, reaching to uneven summits, and crowned with austere, soaring firs. The beach had only a thin border of actual sand at the water's edge, after which it grew into millions of large, smooth stones that looked uniformly gray from a distance, but upon future inspection were every shade a stone could be: terra-cotta, sea green, lavender, blue gray, dull gold. The tide line was strewn with huge driftwood trees, bleached bone white in the salt waves, some piled together against the fringe of the forest, some lying solitary, just out of reach of the ocean.

Our vehicles parked in the otherwise empty lot. There was a brisk wind coming off the waves, cool and briny. Pelicans floated on the swells while seagulls and a lone eagle wheeled above them. The clouds still circled the sky, threatening to invade at any moment, but for now the sun shone stubbornly in its halo of blue sky. We picked our way down to the shore, Mike leading the way to a ring of driftwood logs that had obviously been used for parties like ours before. A fire circle full of black ashes punctuated the center. Eric and the boy I thought was named Ben gathered broken branches from the drier piles of driftwood and soon a teepee-shaped construction was built atop the old cinders.

"Have you ever seen a driftwood fire?" Mike asked Bella. She shook her head. "You'll like this then —watch the colors." He lit a piece and laid it against the teepee. The flames quickly started to lick up the dry wood.

"It's blue," she said in surprise.

"The salt does it. Pretty, isn't it?" He lit one more branch, placed it where the fire hadn't yet caught, and then sat on Bella's other side. Thankfully Jessica was next to him, turning and demanding his attention. I watched Bella be enraptured the blue and green flames crackling toward the sky. At the precise moment she was most preoccupied I swooped in and kissed her, my girlfriend gasping into my mouth, then smiling against it as her fingers curled in my hair.

After a half hour of chatter, some of the boys wanted to hike to the nearby tide pools. It was a dilemma: Bella told me in low tones that while she was fascinated by the sea life, as a child she'd fallen in quite a few times, and being seven with your father is one thing, just as being seventeen with your friends is another. Lauren was the one who made her decision for her. She didn't want to hike, and she was definitely wearing the wrong shoes for it. Most of the girls besides Angela and Jessica decided to stay on the beach as well. We waited until Tyler and Eric had committed to remaining with them before I followed Bella to quietly join the pro-hiking group.

The hike wasn't too long or arduous, which I was happy about, as I'm not as much of an outdoorsman as my parents. Bella walked closer to me, mumbling something about hating to lose the sky in the woods. I drew her against me and cooed softly to calm her down. I loved treating her gently…like handling a baby bird. The green light of the forest wasn't helping, strangely at odds with the adolescent laughter, too murky and ominous to be in harmony with the light banter around us. My clumsy girlfriend stepped across the forest floor very carefully, avoiding roots below and branches above, and we soon fell behind. With a yelp she stumbled, our intertwinement her only savior, and I took the excuse to pin her against a nearby tree. Her breath hitched as my cold hands snaked under her shirt. We kissed and kissed, heads swiveling back and forth, a dance of lips and teeth and tongue. I slipped south and licked her neck with tantalizing slowness from her collarbone all the way to her ear. "I have to tell you something," I whispered to her, body flush against hers, nothing between us but steam.

"What?" she breathed, looking up at me, eyes full of childish naivety.

"I know we've only been together for about two months, but…I really like you, Bella."

"I really like you too, Jordan," she said, smiling and touching my face.

"My feelings usually don't escalate so quickly."

"It sounds like you're speaking at a Fuckboys Anonymous meeting."

I laughed, her joke a lot more relevant than she likely realized, but still easing my nerves significantly. "Anyway. I just wanted to warn you that I think I'm falling for you." Her eyes welled up as she blinked back tears and turned away. I cupped her chin and kissed her slowly, passionately.

We rejoined the group at the tide pools. Bella was cautious not to lean too far over the little ocean ponds. The others were fearless, leaping over the rocks, perching precariously on the edges. I found a large stable-looking boulder on the fringe of one of the largest pools and we settled there, spellbound by the natural aquarium below us. The bouquets of brilliant anemones undulated ceaselessly in the invisible current, twisted shells scurried around the edges, obscuring the crabs within them, starfish stuck motionless to each other, while one small black eel with white stripes wove through the bright green weeds. Bella's hand found mine and we enjoyed the quiet moment together, the crashing of the sea and the laughter of friends as our background music.

"Look at that one," she said suddenly, pointing into a corner of our special pool.

"You're gonna have to do better than that, lovely," I laughed. If we approached near enough I would've wagered there to be a thousand different species of organisms in the crater-lake. Apparently we _were_ getting closer, Bella hopping off the boulder and taking me along by way of our conjoined hands. "Go slowly, little girl," I cautioned, holding the elbow of her free arm to steady her further.

Several seconds later, on our hands and knees at the entrance to nature's aquarium, my girlfriend pointed again at the sight she wanted me to see. "There, clinging against the wall, do you see those shells?"

"Abalone," I said, recognizing the camouflage-like pattern of silvers, greens, blues, and golds. "They are beautiful, aren't they? Don't taste bad, either."

She smacked me. "That's not the reason I wanted you to look, silly."

"What was the reason, then?"

"Your eyes. The way they flash and glint. The blue mixing with green, the winner chosen by your outfit of the day. Even the golden flecks you share with the shell, catching the sun…when there is sun." She laughed, and I with her, feeling heat in my cheeks and the prickly sensation of self-consciousness.

Everyone became hungry around the same time so Bella stood stiffly, offering me her hand to help me do the same. I plucked a spiky sea creature from the —not an abalone, of course, like an urchin of some sort— pond and showed it to my girlfriend, who screamed at me to return it before it died. Mike fell in step with us to ask if everything was alright. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes when I realized I'd rather Mike than Edward take care of Bella in the untimely event of my death. With porcupine in between us Bella fell several times, which I resented, especially since for all his enthusiasm he was never able to catch her in time. Back at the site I saw scrapes on her palms and the knees of her jeans stained green.

When we got back to First Beach, the group we'd left behind had multiplied. As we got closer I noticed shining, straight black hair and copper skin of the newcomers, teenagers from the reservation come to socialize. I elbowed my way to a tray of sandwiches and sodas, getting a pair for me and my girlfriend. She kissed my cheek in gratitude as I handed her the food and put my arm around her. The oldest of the visitors introduced the seven others. A boy who appeared the youngest, called Jacob according to his friend, couldn't take his eyes off Bella. I scooted closer to her possessively.

During lunch the clouds started to advance, slinking across the blue sky, darting in front of the sun momentarily, casting long shadows on the beach, and blackening the waves. As they finished eating people started to drift away in twos and threes. Some walked down to the shoreline, trying to skip stones across the choppy surface. Others were organizing for another trek to the tide pools. Lauren and Tyler occupied themselves with the stereo someone thought to bring. Mike and Jessica headed up to the one shop in the village. Some of the local kids went with them; the rest save for Jacob went on the hike.

He sauntered over and sat on the other side of Bella. He looked fourteen, maybe fifteen, with long glossy black hair pulled back with a rubber band at the nape of his neck. His skin was smooth and russet-colored, his eyes dark and set deep above his high cheekbones. There was still a hint of childish roundness left around his chin. He was 'pretty' you could say. "Hi, Bella. Long time no see."

"Hi Jake," she said, a warm smile on her face as she initiated a hug. "It's been a couple years."

"Did you come out to Forks every summer?"

"No, that's why I haven't seen you around. You've grown like two feet. Are Rachel and Rebecca here?" She cast her attention over her shoulder and combed the beach. "I don't think I see them. Not sure I'd recognize them anymore, though. I barely recognized you."

"They're not here," he said. "Rachel got a scholarship to Washington State and Rebecca married a Samoan surfer —she lives in Hawaii."

"Married. Wow."

"Speaking of, who's this?"

Bella smiled back at me, reaching out a hand and resting it on my thigh, all four of her fingers along my cock. I sat up straighter so my pants would fall more conservatively. Bella returned her hand to its original position, slowly rubbing me up and down, appearing to be affectionate but Jacob would never suspect sexual. "This is Jordan Castro. We moved to Forks around the same time and started school on the same day." She turned to smile at me and touch my face, the latter being one of my favorite ways she participated in PDA. "He's also my boyfriend."

"It's good to meet you," I told him, though didn't move to shake his hand or the like, not willing to part from Bella to do so. "I've heard a lot about you. Good things." While Bella had mentioned him once or twice, that wasn't altogether true, but it seemed like the polite thing to say.

"You too," he said. "So how do you like the truck?" he asked Bella.

"I love it. It runs great."

"Yeah, but it's really slow," he laughed. "I was so relieved when Charlie bought it. My dad wouldn't let me work on building another car when we had a perfectly good vehicle right there."

"It's not that slow," she objected.

"Have you tried to go over sixty?"

"No," she admitted.

He grinned. "Good. Don't."

"It does great in a collision," I offered in the truck's defense. Bella smacked me.

"I don't think a tank could take out that old monster," Jacob agreed with another laugh.

"So you build cars?" I asked, mildly impressed. I bore no talent with cars myself, aside from maintenance of my scooter, and some interest in motorcycles in general.

"When I have time, and parts. You wouldn't happen to know where I could get my hands on a master cylinder for a 1986 Volkswagen Rabbit?"

We all laughed good-naturedly at his jest. Some of the wayward members of our group began to trickle back. Lauren sat on Jacob's other side, our log now at capacity, and embraced him from behind. "You know Bella, Jacob?" Her tone was insolent.

"We've sort of known each other since I was born," he laughed.

"How nice." She didn't sound like she thought it was nice at all, her pale, fishy eyes narrowed. "Bella," she called again, watching my girlfriend's features carefully. "I was just saying to Tyler that it was too bad none of the Cullens could come out today. Didn't anyone think to invite them?" Her expression of concern was unconvincing, but she was behind Jacob, and I could easily smell her bullshit from here.

"You mean Dr. Carlisle Cullen's family?" the tall, older spokesperson from before asked. He was closer to a man than a boy; his voice was very deep.

"Yes, do you know them?" Lauren asked condescendingly.

"The Cullens don't come here," he said in a tone that closed the subject, ignoring her question, much to Lauren's irritation. Tyler distracted her by asking her opinion of the CD he was holding. Bella continued to stare at the last native who spoke, and I could practically watch the gears turning behind her eyes. _Uh oh. I have a bad feeling about this,_ I realized.

"Do you want to walk down to the beach with me?" Bella asked Jacob. He jumped up willingly enough. "We'll be right back, okay, Jordan?"

"Stay in my eyesight, little one," I murmured to her quietly as she leaned in to kiss me.

They took off down the shoreline to the west, away from the tidepools and toward a jetty of rocks that cut about a half mile into the ocean. I hoped Bella intrinsically knew not to wander any further than that. My assertion of control was not out of fear or jealousy around Jacob —though he was a head taller than me, I could break the skinny kid like a toothpick across my lap— I was more concerned about the contents of their conversation… and with Bella, there was always the danger of my clumsy girlfriend simply falling into the ocean. At a gathering of driftwood the two dots in my vision settled, with Bella's body seemingly turned toward the sea and Jacob's turned toward her. _I wonder what they're talking about._

I injected myself into small talk with Mike and Tyler when, about fifteen minutes later, I observed the stragglers stand and begin back to camp. Mike was in an even cheerier mood than normal, positively elated that the weather stayed calm for his trip, and that everyone was enjoying themselves. "How was it?" I asked when my submissive rejoined me at my side.

"Jacob was just telling me some local stories. It was really interesting."

"Are you ready to leave?" Porcupine asked. "The winds are starting to pick up and the girls are getting sand in their eyes."

"It was nice to see you again," Jacob said, embracing Bella goodbye.

"It really was. Next time Charlie comes down to visit Billy, I'll come too."

A grin stretched across his face. "That would be cool."

"And thanks," she added earnestly. But for what remained a mystery for now.


	13. Chapter 13

_**Hello everyone. As you may have noticed, its been awhile since I've updated. I just took on a full time job and to be honest, with less and less reviews giving me feedback and motivation, this fanfiction has unfortunately ended up on the back-burner.**_

 _ **This is the last chapter that I've written so far. There were times during this story that I was as many as three chapters ahead, allowing me to post according to reader participation, and overall resulting in less anxiety and urgency for me as a writer.**_

 ** _It's true that I am experiencing a bout of writer's block right now. I don't know when or how it will come to an end. All I know is that_** DaProphet0fPein's _**review posted tonight is what inspired me to upload this entry. There are almost 40 of you following this story and I would hate to leave all of you hanging, especially before Jordan and Alice even get together!**_

 _ **Please help me get back on track with this fanfiction. Leave your thoughts in the review section and feel free to message me about any ideas you think might work for the story. Already**_ white seprent **_came up with an idea that I positively adore and will 100% incorporate._**

 ** _These ideas can serve as milestones that I can strive to arrive at, with you as a loyal follower as we continue to see how events unfold, together. You can look forward to every update while I anticipate your feedback like a piece of candy after a job well done :)_**

 ** _Thank you for those who read the entirety of this forward and without further ado, please enjoy!_**

 **THIRTEEN**

Back at Newton's Olympic Outfitters, everyone exchanged goodbyes and split into the smaller groups they'd come in. Bella strangely acted as if she preferred I didn't follow her home and spend the night —a plan established via text earlier in the day— but I wasn't going to let her off that easy. I needed to know what she and Jacob talked about. There was a chance it had nothing to do with the Cullens, sure. But Sam, the name of the eldest Quileute teenager, in an attempt to squander the subject matter simply transferred the conversation out of my earshot. Pretty irritating.

It was dinner time as my purple VXR and Bella's orange beater pulled into her otherwise vacant driveway. She was quiet as we entered the house, settling at the dining table as she referenced a recipe book. I leaned against the kitchen counter, arms folded across my chest, staring out the window. Silence doesn't bother me, and I'd hear about her secretive dialogue soon enough. "Anything you want for dinner, dear?" she asked innocently enough. However, for some reason the domesticity in her calling me 'dear' was arousing in the extreme. I grinned devilishly, taking my time prowling ever nearer to her. "What are you doing, sir?" she asked, likely recognizing the dominance sparking in my eyes.

"I'll tell you what I want for dinner, you little slut," I growled, grabbing her chair and forcefully scooting it forward. She yelped as her hands gripped for the seat. "I want that pristine, addictive cunt of yours." She exclaimed with excitement as I unfastened the button of her pants with my jeans. I yanked them off my submissive, her laughing delightedly as she kicked them away. My knee bent to the linoleum as I parted her legs and discovered something surely to embarrass her. "My my, my sweet little slave, what do we have here?" Bella glanced downwards and quickly tried to snap her legs shut. "Nuh uh uh, you naughty little thing. Master relishes in humiliating his pet. What is that between your legs, Isabella?"

She swallowed hard, red as possible, looking anywhere but at me. "It's a wet spot, sir."

"Louder."

"It's a wet spot, sir!"

"Look at me, little girl." Bella obeyed the command. "Say, 'Slut made a wet spot in her slave panties, Master'." She gulped again, laughing nervously, shifting her weight in her seat. "Come now, precious thing. Your king wants to drink his wine of the divines." I winked at her, trying to ease her apprehension.

She relaxed visibly, jaw rolling on its hinges, courage working up as her features set in resolve. "Slut made a wet spot in her slave panties, Master," she said at a normal volume, more or less succeeding in maintaining eye contact with me.

"Good girl!" I purred against those panties, my tongue tracing the outline of her folds. "What a good girl. Master is going to make that embarrassing wet patch grow as a reward. What a splendid horny puppy I have. Good girl."

With my tongue I slipped the hem of her panties into my mouth and dragged it off her body with my teeth. Her bare, glistening cunt opened up again for me, like a clam exposing its pearl, and I couldn't wait to worship at her altar. I dove in with all the vigor in the world, scooping her wetness into my mouth with lick after lick. She scooted forward into my face and I closed any remaining distance by cupping her ass cheeks with my hands. My nose tickled her clit with Eskimo kisses as I pivoted my head back and forth. It wasn't long until she was on the edge.

"Beg for it, sweet girl," I breathed onto her gushing center.

"Uuunnnnnnnnnnnmph," she said, trying to squirm away from me —likely overwhelmed by the pleasure. "Master, you haven't taught me how to beg yet, sir."

"Just try, my darling flower. The best pleading occurs just on the threshold of oblivion."

It was true that, even still, I hadn't introduced Isabella Swan…my instinctual submissive… to any formal training. My excuse —fragile though it was— is that she performed like a trained slave in almost every instance in which I invoked our dynamic. My style of BDSM fell in between scenes and a 24/7 lifestyle, resulting in a dynamic only activated when one of us initiated it. So far she'd followed my lead each time I had, even starting it herself a few times. Nothing made me happier than the fact she liked BDSM as well. There was no fun in it for me if my partner wasn't enjoying herself.

"Sir, please let your slut come," she gasped, growing slicker by her own words. "Oh, fuck, my dominant, my Master, PLEASE!"

"Come, bitch," I commanded her cunt. I sucked her clit in between my teeth and nibbled gently but relentlessly as her body began to quake like leaves in a breeze, as if she were being electrocuted by ecstasy itself.

Near the end of her orgasm I heard the sound of jingling keys turning in a door. My eyes snapped open but Bella, enthralled in her experience, hadn't heard. My mind worked twice as fast as it calculated the best course of action. I moved my hands a couple inches so that I was gripping the chair instead of my girlfriend's ass. With all my strength I lifted both, causing a yelp (which was better than a scream but still not ideal), as I ran from the kitchen into the living room and up the stairs. The front door opened as my momentum miraculously closed her bedroom door behind us, somehow by the grace of God not slamming shut. Bella looked pale as a sheet when I set her down —from the untimely arrival of her father or my impromptu getaway, I couldn't be sure.

"Okay, pros: I think I got us out of there in time. I don't think Charlie will go into the kitchen unless the newspaper is in there. Do you remember seeing it?" I was talking so fast I was surprised my tongue didn't trip over the words. Bella looked up at me through those thick lashes, clearly in the purgatory between reality and subspace, and scared. "Shh, darling, everything is okay," I murmured, kneeling in front of her, rubbing up and down her goose-bumpy thighs. "We're gonna go to the bathroom, okay? I'm going to run a bath for you, then try to sneak the chair back downstairs and your clothes back up here."

I picked her up bridal style -no resistance in her weak body- and held her close as I opened the door again. I glanced downstairs —Charlie was in front of the television, the informative voices of the local news floating up the stairs. I proceeded in the opposite direction, down the upstairs hallway, and maneuvered us into the restroom. I placed Bella carefully on the toilet seat as I turned on the faucet and the tub began to fill. I spoke to her gently, petting her hair, watching the awareness return to her eyes little by little. After I added bubbles to the concoction, I assisted Bella in undressing the rest of the way and laying down in the steamy, soapy waters. "Do you want some music to help you relax, sweetheart?"

"No thank you, Master," she said dreamily, playing with some foam in her left hand. "Can you please leave the door a crack open? It'd make me feel better to hear you moving around."

"You got it, beautiful." I kissed the top of her head and fulfilled her request on the way out.

I listened to Jordan cautiously descend the creaking wooden staircase. He exchanged pleasantries with Charlie, offering up an explanation about the chair that I didn't catch, but my dad didn't seem to answer suspiciously. I drew patterns in the film of soap on top of my bathwater. I wished I'd let him put on some music. Now I only had the confusing thoughts that Jacob's stories had inspired swirling around in my head.

The warm water soothed my sore center. My fingers gingerly made their way south and discovered my folds to be still swollen and sensitive. No wonder premarital sex was so popular —it was fucking amazingly fun. Plus taking things slowly allowed for each milestone to be all the more exciting. I reminded myself to ask my dominant to begin my formal training. While many things about being a slave were obvious or intuitive, I wanted to be molded into his perfect submissive. This new train of thought, as well as the aromatic bubbles, lulled me to sleep with a smile on my lips.

 _Aware in some corner of my consciousness that I was dreaming, I recognized the green light of the forest. I could hear the waves crashing against the rocks somewhere nearby, and I knew that if I found the ocean, I'd be able to see the sun. I was trying to follow the sound, but then Jacob Black was there, tugging on my hand, pulling be back toward the darkest part of the forest._

 _"Jacob? What's wrong?" I asked. His face was frightened as he yanked with all his strength against my resistance; I didn't want to go into the dark._

 _"Run, Bella, you have to run!" he whispered, terrified._

 _"This way, Bella!" I recognized Jordan's voice calling out of the gloomy heart of the trees, but I couldn't see him._

 _"Why?" I asked, still pulling against Jacob's grasp, now desperate to find the sun. But Jacob let go of my hand and yelped, suddenly shaking, falling to the dim forest floor. He twitched on the ground as I watched in horror. "Jacob!" I screamed, but he was gone. In his place was a large red-brown wolf with black eyes. The wolf faced away from me, pointing toward the shore, the hair on the back of his shoulders bristling, low growling issuing from between his exposed fangs._

 _"Bella, run!" Jordan cried out again from behind me. I turned, eyes darting between the wolf and the shadows, heart and mind and soul torn. Out of my peripherals I noticed a light coming toward me from the beach._

 _And then Edward stepped out from the trees, his skin faintly glowing, his eyes black and dangerous. He held up one hand and beckoned me to come to him. The wolf growled at my feet. I took a step forward, toward Edward. He smiled then, teeth sharp and pointed. "Trust me," he purred. I took another step. The wolf launched himself across the space between me and Edward, fangs aiming for the jugular._

"No!" I screamed, wrenching upright out of my bed. I looked around, disoriented. My hair was still wet but I was clad in pajamas from head to toe. My boyfriend wasn't here but I could hear footsteps drawing nearer with urgency. I sighed as my head rejoined my pillow. I dreamt about Edward a lot more often then I'd ever want Jordan to know, but… never before had I experienced such a nightmare.

"What's wrong, Bells?" Both Jordan and Charlie were in my doorway, wearing near identical expressions of concern. I allowed myself a small smile at the endearing observation.

"Nothing, I'm sorry. Bad dream."

Chief Swan nodded, satisfied, and lumbered back down the staircase. Jordan entered, door shutting with a click, and he crawled onto the bed next to me. He wrapped his strong arms around me and I burrowed into him, loving his masculine smell… reminiscent, actually, of a forest near the ocean… piney and brisk. "You're sure you're okay?" his deep voice rumbled in his chest.

"Yes sir," I squeaked quietly, anxiety dissolved in the presence of my paramour.

At 9PM, over a late dinner, Charlie asked how our trip to La Push went. I waited for Jordan to answer, his natural dominance usually directing conversations, but he and my father both looked at me with expectation. "It was a lot of fun," I said after swallowing my bite of food. "The weather stayed nice. It'd been a few years since I'd visited the tide pools."

"Ah," my dad said, nodding at the fond memories. "It's good to see you hanging out with your other friends. Did you get to see Jacob Black?"

"Yeah, he's grown like a foot," I said, laughing.

"Yeah, they even spent some quality one-on-one time together," Jordan added, eyes on his plate.

"Really? Nice." A cube of steak, impaled on a silver fork, disappeared beneath his mustache. "What did you two go off and do?"

"We just went down to a circle of driftwood by the shoreline. He told me some old ghost stories that have been passed through the generations of his tribe."

"I've heard many of those tales over the years; which in particular?"

 _Great._ I fought the urge to glance at my boyfriend. "He told me about how his ancestors believed themselves to be descended from wolves. They protected their lands from the Cold Ones."

"Vampires," Charlie clarified to Jordan, chuckling. The beautiful boy smiled but still didn't look at me. I frowned. For the remainder of the meal the males talked about the upcoming football game, Forks' Spartans versus Port Angeles' Roughriders. Why men bothered keeping up with high school football in a small town was beyond me. All of our local teams sucked, anyway, literally ending seasons with records like 1 and 8 or 0 and 9, a sports' turn of phrase I'd memorized only because I heard it repeated year after year. I cleared the table for everyone and washed the dishes, running the water louder than necessary to block out their conversation. I hadn't planned on telling about my talk with Jacob to either of them.

I bit my lip, wondering if I could sneak past Charlie and Jordan to get to my computer…

No such luck. My boyfriend bid my father goodnight and fell in step on the staircase right behind me. I sat at my desk and depressed my ancient desktop's power button, having to hold it there upwards of 10 seconds before the machine shuddered awake. Jordan walked to the back of the chair, massaging my shoulders firmly and expertly. A moan escaped my lips before my hands could clamp over my mouth. He chortled, a low sound, before bending and wrapping his arms around my neck, showering my face with kisses. "Whatcha doing, lovely?" he asked, biting the curve of my ear softly.

Goosebumps erupted across my body. "Nothing. Just pretty sure I'm gonna need the internet for homework tonight." The screen illuminated and my desktop was buried underneath dozens of pop ups. I sighed as I spent two minutes painstakingly selecting the tiny X in the corner of each little window. Luckily this exercise caused Jordan to lose some of his patience as he crashed back onto my bed. A few clicks later I was at my favorite search engine; I typed one word.

 _Vampire_.

It took an infuriatingly long time, of course. When the results came up, there was a lot to sift through —everything from movies and TV shows to role-playing games, underground metal, and gothic cosmetic companies. Then I found a promising site: Vampires A – Z. I waited impatiently for it to load, aware of each sound Jordan restlessly made behind me, when finally a simple white background with black text appeared. Two academic-looking quotes greeted me on the home page:

 _Throughout the vast shadowy world of ghosts and demons there is no figure so terrible, no figure so dreaded and abhorred, yet dight with such fearful fascination, as the vampire, who is himself neither ghost nor demon, but yet who partakes the dark natures and possesses the mysterious and terrible qualities of both. — Rev. Montague Summers_

 _If there is in this world a well-attested account, it is that of the vampires. Nothing is lacking: official reports, affidavits of well-known people, of surgeons, of priests, of magistrates; the judicial proof is most complete. And with all that, who is there who believes in vampires? — Rousseau_

The rest of the website was an alphabetized listing of all the different myths of vampires held throughout the world. The first I clicked on, the Danag, was a Filipino vampire supposedly responsible for planting taro on the islands long ago. The myth continued that the Danag worked with humans for many years, but the partnership ended one day when a woman cut her finger and a Danag sucked her wound, enjoying the taste so much that it drained her body completely of blood.

I read carefully through the descriptions, looking for anything that sounded familiar, let alone plausible. Jordan sneezed twice, thankfully still on my bed, but making me jump out of my skin all the same. Only three entries really caught my attention: the Romanian Varacolaci, a powerful undead being who could appear as a beautiful, pale-skinned human; the Slovak Nelapsi, a creature so strong and fast it could massacre an entire village in the single hour after midnight; and one other, the Stregoni benefici. About this last myth there was only one brief sentence.

 _Stregoni benefici: An Italian vampire, said to be on the side of goodness, and a mortal enemy of all evil vampires._

It was a relief, that one small entry, the one myth among hundreds that claimed the existence of good vampires. Overall, though, there was little that coincided with Jacob's stories or my own observations. Speed, strength, beauty, pale-skin, eyes that shift color; and then Jacob's criteria: blood drinkers, enemies of the werewolf, cold-skinned, and immortal. There were very few myths that matched even one factor. Another problem, one that I'd remembered from the small number of scary movies that I've seen —vampires couldn't come out in the daytime, the sun would incinerate them. They slept in coffins all day and came out only at night.

Aggravated, I snapped off the computers main power switch, not waiting to shut the thing down properly. "Everything okay, babe?" my boyfriend asked from my mattress. I grunted in reply, throwing myself on top of him and his trig textbook. He laughed, discarding the book and curling his body so my back was propped up against his legs, and his upper body rested on top of both of mine. "I'm getting you a new machine for your birthday, and then I'm gonna take a sledgehammer to that dinosaur myself. Step 1, film that shit. Step 2, upload it to Youtube. Step 3, profit."

I giggled and rolled my eyes at him —he could be so silly sometimes— but his light mood did help to alleviate mine. "My birthday isn't until September, handsome," I reminded him, pushing the softest hair in the world out of the most breathtaking eyes on the planet.

"Right." His brow furrowed adorably. "Well, today's like March 20th or 21st, so…six months away!" We chatted for maybe about twenty minutes longer, the beautiful boy twirling one of my curls in his lithe fingers, looking at me attentively as I spoke. He asked an indirect question that, for all his careful phrasing, may as well have been 'What did you and Jake talk about on the beach?' I laughed at the joke he'd weaved into his query —rookie mistake— and then said I was tired and switched off my bedside lamp.

A small whirlpool of guilt spun slowly in the center of my chest as my boyfriend pulled me along his athletic body, rendering me immobile with two muscular limbs pinning me to his hard-yet-soft frame. I had plenty of good reasons to dodge the probe. I promised Jacob I wouldn't disclose the specifics of our conversation with anyone. On top of that, my internet search resulted in nothing substantial to back up Jacob's stories or my own observations. And, the cherry on top of the cake: I didn't want Jordan Castro to think I lost my fucking marbles.

Unhappy, I pulled the covers over my head and struggled into an empty sleep.


	14. Chapter 14

_**Hey everyone!**_

 _ **To say its been awhile would be an understatement haha... its been a looong time.**_

 _ **I got a new follower for this story a few days ago and it inspired me to revisit the document and finish this chapter, which I probably began writing over 6 months ago. It wasn't easy -I'm rusty, that's for sure- but rereading everything up to this point did make me want to continue where I left off!**_

 _ **If you're still following this story and want more, please let me know in the reviews!**_

 **FOURTEEN**

Days passed…and it was excruciating to keep the Cullens' secret from Isabella Swan. It didn't help that she ransacked the internet for answers every other day, requiring me to feign ignorance about her googling the word 'vampire' for the umpteenth time. The sun came to visit for a few days, so the coven of Cold Ones stayed away from the high school, much to my girlfriend's dismay. It irritated me beyond belief that she cared so much. Then again, Jasper probably knew how I felt, with my being his girlfriend's singer. But Edward wasn't Bella's singer, so she needed to calm down.

Our 3 month anniversary fell on a Saturday. I'd spent the night previous and woke up before Bella, carefully unthreading my arms from her naked body before getting dressed and tiptoeing down the world's creakiest staircase. The Swan household's cupboards were often more bare than stocked but I managed to scramble up some eggs and flip some flapjacks. I prepared three plates, knocking gently on Charlie's door and treating him to breakfast in bed as well, before striding to the second floor and preparing to do the same for my girlfriend. I rested her serving on the end table as I knelt in front of her precious, angelic face…childlike in her sleep. As light as a feather I brushed a strand of hair away from her face and yet she stirred, nose scrunching up and brow furrowing. I waited until her dreams reclaimed her before leaning in and kissing her with impossible softness. She sighed with bliss into my mouth, not doing much to kiss me back but parting her lips willingly enough, and I didn't mind in the slightest. I slowly climbed on top of her, managing to keep her half-asleep by suspending my body in a pushup position as we continued to French.

"Good morning, sweetness," I murmured when she began to consciously kiss me back. "Happy 3 month anniversary, Isabella."

She smiled. "Happy 3 month anniversary baby."

We smooched. "I brought you breakfast in bed."

Bella 'eek'ed excitedly, sitting up as I handed her the plate. "Yum, pancakes! Lots of butter and light syrup, you know me so well."

"I like to think I pay attention," I said, extremely pleased with myself.

"Aren't you going to eat?"

"I did," I said, the rinsed dishes in the sink. "and I'll be having you for dessert."

Once she finished I placed just a drop of syrup on her clit and began to feast. She bit a pillow in an effort to keep quiet but Bella is LOUD in the bedroom. I licked and flicked until she was at the edge… and pulled away. She gasped in outrage as I teased her with feather kisses along the inside of her thigh, biting her as soon as her eyes closed again. She moaned deep in the back of her throat, one hand knotting in my hair and guiding me back to her center. Her thighs squeezed my skull to keep me in place, practically howling into the useless pillow as the pleasure grew too intense and she climaxed.

Our bodies fell limp alongside one another, glistening and panting. Her eyes fluttered open, dazed and confused, and I smiled brilliantly at her, trying to convey all the admiration and adoration I felt for her. She crawled over to me and I welcomed her with open arms, our bodies slippery in the most intimate way. "Jordan," she whispered, the word sounding like a piece of candy on her tongue.

"Yes, my dearest one."

"I think I'm ready."

"For what, darling?" I glanced down and could tell from the fire in her eyes what activity she was referring to. "Are you sure?"

"I think you've waited long enough," she teased, giggling. She reached down and my breath hitched when her fingers stroked my cock. "What is it gonna be like to finally slide this big thick dick into my tight little pussy after _months_ and _months_ of waiting?"

"Herrrrumph," I moaned, bucking my hips slightly, assisting in her efforts. "It's going to be diviiiiiine."

She disappeared beneath the sheets and the next moment that soft, warm mouth was enclosed around my penis head. She gave the tip the gentle attention that drives every man wild. I almost protested aloud when she came up for breath. "Just so you know, this is my first time doing this. Like any of this."

"That's okay —you're doing great!" She dove into the blankets again, reuniting my member with her talented lips. Up and down the length she kissed and licked my erection. "What a perfect dicksucker I have, worshipping Master's Godcock with that slave tongue. Such a good slut." The blanket rose and fell with the motions of her head… she couldn't take very much of me at once, but that was understandable given her inexperience, and I would train her to deep throat. "Watch your teeth, little one," I critiqued gently. "You can pull your lips over them if you want. It will feel strange to you but it will feel exceptional to me." She followed my instructions and I let my head fall against the pillows behind me, trusting the pairing of her intuition and instincts.

Soon my dick slipped from her mouth as she climbed out from under sheets. My eyes strolled across every summit and valley of Miss Swan's beautiful body… her swollen breasts and pointy pink nipples… the soft, pale expanse that was her stomach… the sharpness of her hipbones. I grabbed my wallet from the nightstand and tore open a condom. She plucked it from my fingers and rolled it over my cock with hers. Then, I watched as she lowered herself…impaled herself upon my spear.

The look on a virgin's face when she finally feels full for the first time is unforgettable. Her eyes fluttered to the back of her head —she smiled brilliantly— and she moaned with a mix of pain and pleasure. "Don't sit all the way down, darling," I cautioned her, hands at her elbows to halt her from doing so. "Go slowly for your first time, my dear. Not many women can take a dick like this all at once."

She obeyed, bouncing softly like a bunny up and down on my erection, wincing and smiling at once each time she descended. I reached up and fondled her tits, squeezing and massaging them, finding her nips and twisting them until she winced. "Thank you, sir," she hissed through her teeth.

"Would you like some training, pet?"

She began nodding empathetically. "Oh yes please, more than anything my powerful king."

"I'm going to teach you how to submit. It is a very important skill for little girls to know. Do you understand, sweetness?" She moaned in assent. "Okay, darling, when I ask you to submit, you will exalt me and worship me while humbling yourself. You pay tribute to my dominance with your words. Already you do an exquisite job of this in the manner you normally speak to Master, so don't be afraid to try."

"Yes sir," she breathed, switching her motion from up and down on my dick to back and forth. "Master, I'm so thankful to be…having sex with you…"

I smiled despite myself. I was already losing her to subspace —where a slave might be capable of submitting— but not one as inexperienced as Bella. I released the expectation of her submission and instead focused on her innocence and her purity. A new slave is so very precious in her own way; a different joy than a perfectly trained one. I pushed myself up onto my elbows and caressed Bella's legs with my hands until those big brown eyes opened for me. "Are you ready to get fucked?" I asked her.

In the next moment, she was on her back. Bella's performance blowing me and riding me was delicious foreplay, and now it was my turn to perform for her. I propped myself up by one arm as I rocked my hips against hers. Her hands explored my body… scratching down my back, squeezing my shoulders, all in an attempt to draw our bodies closer together. She gasped as she received my full length and girth for the first time —and I showed no mercy— I gave it to her again and again and again. "Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit, holy shit," she was whispering, her voice jumping an octave each time.

"Do you want me to stop?" I teased her.

"Don't stop!" she nearly growled, arms around my neck, pulling me closer.

She matched pace with my thrusts and now we moved together…no separation…more of one body than two. My skin drank in every inch of hers; the breaths between us the only air in the room. I closed any remaining distance by uniting our lips. I loved the way she tasted: the sweetness of familiarity, salty with the effort, the spice of this moment.

We came together, as soon as her pussy started to tighten around my cock. We gasped into each other's mouths as the lightning struck us both, electrocuting our vibrating bodies, throttling my very consciousness. Bella's pleasure came in waves, the contraction of each I felt through my dick, the spasms akin to a round of applause for a job well done.

"Wow," she said dreamily. I propped myself up again so I could look down at my beautiful girlfriend's face. Water pooled in her eyes and when she blinked, a tear snaked down her cheek. I bent my head and licked it away, making her laugh, and she reached up to wipe away the rest. "Don't pay attention to me. I don't know why I'm crying."

"That's okay," I told her, bobbing and weaving my head until she'd look at me. "It's okay, lovely. A lot of people cry their first time." A beat. "I've been told I'm that good."

"Stop it." She smacked me, and then her hand stayed where it'd landed, suddenly feeling up my bicep. It didn't matter that I'd busted a nut maybe two minutes ago…her touch was extremely gratifying. "How was… how was I?"

I smiled, suppressing a laugh, not wanting to make her self-conscious. "You were splendid, my dear," I purred, kissing her face a few times. "Exquisite. Fantastic. Perfect, my sweet little slave. You pleased Master very well." Her arms returned around my neck and I descended on her again…holding each other in a hug. I turned over so we lay side-by-side, as equals. The sex had been a pleasant blend of BDSM and vanilla but, right now, beyond Master and slave…I wanted to be Jordan and Bella. "Isabella."

"Yes?"

My mouth opened —and then it stopped, my jaw rolling on its hinges. I was well aware of the phrase that had nearly passed my lips. It was three words I rarely uttered to anyone. They placed the other person in a position of absolute power —you become entirely at their mercy. These are words you can't swallow back once they've been said. I wish I could say it was Saraphina's face that had popped into my mind's eye the nanosecond before I spoke…a reminder of the backhand to euphoria that comes with love: the ending. But it wasn't the thought of my ex-girlfriend, or even the pain and suffering that she had left in her wake, which stopped me. It was Alice.

"Nothing. Let's get dressed. I've got quite the day planned for us!"


	15. Chapter 15

_**What's up, guys?! I'll tell you what's up... Chapter 15 of A Vision of Love!**_

 _ **Please leave a review of what you think, they mean a lot to me, and are directly correlated with how fast I update :)**_

 **FIFTEEN**

BELLA POV

The sun was out again, the cherry on top of a lovely three month anniversary. It started with breakfast in bed: cheesy eggs and fluffy pancakes. Afterwards, my sexually skilled boyfriend and Master graced me with two mind-blowing orgasms. Being with him… inside me… I'd never experienced anything like it before. It was as if I was finally as close to him as I wanted to be, physically and emotionally.

Then we went for a joy ride on his scooter. We zigzagged through town and poked our heads into any storefront that caught our interest. Despite my protests, he bought me a wooden charm bracelet I liked at a gift shop. Around lunchtime we rode back to his house where he ducked inside and returned with a wicker basket. He'd packed a picnic that we shared at our spot —the shoulder of the road halfway up the mountain, where he asked me to be his girlfriend. The weather allotted us a view of the ocean as we snacked on sandwiches and fruit salad.

"What did you think of me, when we first met?" he asked, lounging across the blanket.

I smiled but looked away, embarrassed at the blush that heated my cheeks. "Umm… well, I thought you were handsome. You were very confident —cocky, even."

"Cocky?" he repeated playfully.

"Yes!" I laughed. "You threw away our map!"

We relived other moments we'd spent together. I told him how relieved I was when he switched seats with me the day Edward was in such a sour mood, and how much it meant to me that he brought over a home cooked meal on the day of the accident. He disclosed his strategy at attempting to woo me, from each casual touch building on the next, to the timing of asking for my number.

Once we finished eating, our next destination was a small dirt parking lot at the bottom of the mountain, where we started on a small hike. Hand in hand we followed the river as it threaded in between the pines of the forest. A half hour later we reached a quaint footbridge and asked another couple to take our picture. For a while we lingered on the bridge and watched the water. It was all so perfect —the trees and the stream and the sunshine. I couldn't remember being so happy since moving to Forks… maybe being so happy ever.

On the walk back he offered me the choice of going out to dinner (reservations already made) or going to my favorite café for some coffee and croissants. I chose the latter. Somehow he'd made arrangements there, too, as he walked right in and showed me to a table adorned by candlelight and a bouquet of roses. "I told you not to do anything too elaborate," I mumbled as he pulled out my chair.

"This is not elaborate," he said, taking his own seat. "You should have seen what was waiting at the restaurant."

I lost track of time at the café. It was easy to do in the presence of Jordan Castro. His persona captured all of my attention effortlessly. Everything about him, from his iridescent eyes to his melodious voice, his quirky sense of humor to his intriguing intellect, made paying attention elsewhere stupid and pointless.

"It's getting late," he sighed. "I should get you home if I want to stay on Charlie's good side."

I sighed too. I didn't want this day to end. "Sleep over?" I asked.

"Can't. I'm going birdwatching tomorrow morning with my dad."

It was weird to spend my Sunday without him. I hadn't realized we'd seen each other every single day for maybe a month straight. I took the opportunity to email my mom… I had backlogged three or four emails, each snippier than the last. It took me some time to decide whether or not to tell her about Jordan. I could forecast her reaction already: indignation at not being told sooner, insistence upon every detail, questions about his family and ambitions for the future.

'Mom,' I typed. 'Sorry. I've been out. I went to the beach with some friends. And I had to write a paper. It's sunny outside today —I know. I'm shocked, too —so I'm going to go outside and soak up as much vitamin D as I can. I love you. Bella.' My cursor hovered over the send button, but I hesitated, and then added a few more lines: 'P.S. I met someone. His name is Jordan. He's kind and treats me very well. Charlie likes him. Talk to you soon.' Sent.

On Monday I was one of the first ones to school. I chose to sit on the seldom-used picnic benches on the south side of the cafeteria and double-check my Trig homework, for lack of anything better to do. I took out the textbook industriously, but halfway through checking the first problem I was daydreaming. I doodled inattentively along the margins of my homework.

"Bella!" I heard someone call, and it sounded like Mike. I looked around to recognize the school had become populated, everyone wearing t-shirts, some even in shorts though it was cloudy and the temperature couldn't be over sixty. Mike was coming toward me in khaki shorts and a striped Rugby shirt, waving.

"Hey, Mike," I called, waving back.

He came to sit by me, a grin stretching across his face. He always seemed so delighted to see me. "I never noticed before —your hair has red in it," he commented, catching between his fingers a strand that was fluttering in the light breeze. I became just a little uncomfortable as he tucked the lock behind my ear. "So, what did you do yesterday?"

I reflected on my strange Sunday. "I mostly worked on my essay," I realized aloud.

He hit his forehead with the heel of his hand. "Oh yeah —that's due Thursday, right?"

"Umm, Wednesday, I think."

"Wednesday?" He frowned. "That's not good. I guess I'll have to get to work on that tonight," he said, deflated. "I was going to ask if you wanted to go out."

"Oh." I was taken off guard. Why couldn't I ever have a pleasant conversation with Mike anymore without it getting awkward? "Mike…I don't think that would be the best idea. You do know that Jordan is my boyfriend, right?"

His eyes became guarded. "I…knew you were dating. I didn't know you were…exclusive."

"For three months," I explained, trying not to sound mean. "Not to mention, I think it would hurt Jessica's feelings."

He looked bewildered. "Jessica?"

"That's me!" Suddenly my friend with black curly hair joined us. Her outfit of the day was a pastel skirt with the hem just above her knees and a Hello Kitty t-shirt. I dressed in a sweater and jeans, and had my rain jacket with me just in case the clouds darkened later in the day. "Hey Mike," she flirted openly, touching his arm.

"Oh," he said, looking at me as comprehension dawned across his face. "Hey, Jessica."

"Where's your beau?" she asked me. I frowned. My eyes did a quick scan of the parking lot… and my gaze floated across the student body as the bell chimed…no dirty blonde hair and blue-green eyes to be seen. " _Anyway_ ," Jessica pressed on, impatient. "Angela and Lauren and I are going to Port Angeles tonight, do you want to come?"

"What's in Port Angeles?" Mike asked.

Her irritation evaporated and she adopted a quiet, conspiratorial tone. " _Well_ ," she whispered, "Lauren had this amazing idea! We tucked the tags inside our dresses instead of tearing them off, and now we can return them!"

I raised my eyebrows. "Sneaky," I murmured to myself.

" _Smart_ ," Jessica corrected. "So, do you want to come? We missed you at our girls' night out last time. We can return the dresses and then we can shop for as long as we want!"

I was indecisive. It would be nice to get out of town with some girlfriends, but Lauren would be there, and Jordan wouldn't. _Where is he, anyhow?_ I wondered as the three of us stood. As we split directions I gave Jessica a maybe, telling her I'd have to talk with Charlie first.

A wave of relief coursed through my veins when I discovered my beautiful boyfriend in his usual seat, next to mine, in English. He unleashed his charming smile on me as I eased into the seat beside him. "Where were you this morning?" I asked, getting out Great Expectations.

"Smoking in the forest," he answered, closing his already squinty eyes and pantomiming taking a drag off a joint.

"I don't understand why you like to get high before school." Especially after the time we'd done it together… the marijuana had made it hard for me to focus the rest of the day, made me feel acutely self-conscious, and made me paranoid that everyone could tell.

"Relax. I put Visine in and sprayed some cologne. Everything is fine."

Mr. Mason took roll and then invited the class to line up at the door. He led us to the library, where we traded in our copies of Great Expectations for To Kill a Mockingbird, another book I'd read before. We spent the rest of the hour discussing the history surrounding the story to acclimate us to the time period in which it took place. Part of me paid attention while the other part noticed Jordan texting someone underneath his desk. I wanted to ask who, but didn't want to be the hovering kind of girlfriend, so I refrained. That became more difficult as he began to giggle at random intervals. _He's allowed to have friends_ , I reminded myself, with a few guilty sentiments attached. I was closer to the girls in our group than he was to the guys, after all, as evidenced by Jessica's invitation. Whatever connection he was getting from his texting buddy, he definitely deserved.

He wove our fingers together as we walked from English to Government. Touching him was different, now. The newness was gone but replaced by something equally good, if not better…security. The public displays of affection felt safe and natural. I squeezed his hand tighter at the thought. Those abalone eyes flashed at me, and for once I held his intense gaze. He really was beautiful —it was a more suitable word than handsome.

We had a substitute teacher in Government. Jordan and I passed notes to each other, and I was happy to preoccupy him from tormenting the sub, as many of the boys seemed to be doing…in competition for the title of class clown, I guess. He expressed how much he enjoyed our day together on Saturday. I echoed his appreciation, and sketched a picture of the charm bracelet he bought me. He smiled and spent maybe twenty minutes adding detail to it before passing it back to me. It was 3-D now, and you could tell it was wood by the lines and shading he'd done with his pencil. I leaned toward him to compliment it, but his phone was out, and he was snickering again.

"Master," I said quietly as he took my hand again on the way to Trig.

"Slave," he said gently, pulling me closer as his arm slid around my waist.

"Jessica invited me to go to Port Angeles with her, Angela, and Lauren tonight, and I was wondering if I could have permission to go."

A smirk played on his lips. I could tell I'd pleased him, which pleased the submissive in me: the recently discovered but surprisingly large part of my personality. "My pet wants to go on a playdate, is that it?" I barked softly. He smiled wider and lifted his hand to scratch me behind the ear, one of my favorite rewards. "Good girl for asking. You are such a natural, my sweet. I enjoy your slavery…the way we're sculpting it together." My heart sank a little when he said _your slavery_ , as it reminded me of his having others before, but it picked up just as quickly when he said _the way we're sculpting it together._ THAT sounded like something new to him; it made me feel special. "You may, my little slut," he purred against my ear, pinching my ass.

I flushed with the surge of hormones. "Thank you, sir."

ALICE POV

"So, did you smoke up with Jordan this morning?" I asked cheerily, already knowing the answer.

"Yeah I did," Emmett said from across the lunch table. Edward and Rosalie, on his right and left respectively, both glowered in opposite directions. "He's not that bad. He's a cool kid, actually. Funny. Do you know what 'memes' are?"

"Those pictures on the Internet with captions on them?" Jasper tried.

"Yeah!" Emmett exclaimed. "He showed me this website and we've been sending them back and forth all day." As if on cue his phone went off, and he reached for it with boyish excitement. "Oh okay, this one's a video." He spun around and held the phone so we could all watch. Edward and Rosalie continued staring off while Jasper, Emmett, and I enjoyed the viral video of a boy named Daniel who apparently was 'back at it again with the white Vans.'

"Someone remind me again why we're befriending the humans?" Rosalie asked tartly, her disdainful expression now fixated on me. "You can't see this ending well."

I reminisced on the day Bella Swan and Jordan Castro joined the school. I remembered how viciously tempted Edward was to kill her and the entire classroom of Biology students the first time he caught her scent. In that, I was lucky… I envisioned my own shock and ravenousness upon smelling Jordan's scent before I actually met him, the day afterwards, in Gym. Experiencing it second-hand before first-hand —at least I'd known what to expect. Jasper used his gift to numb and calm me to the extent that he could, but it was dangerous in the extreme, his being able to feel my uniquely acute thirst doubled with his own. He was the newest member to our lifestyle, after all. It was an unfair thing to ask, but I was… morbidly curious, if I'm to be honest. Every vampire dreams of meeting their singer. And I'd looked to the future to know I wouldn't kill him.

In fact, when I looked to the future… I could see Jordan and I in a relationship. It still was a mystery as to whether the possibility's genesis originated in my mind or his… and how all the factors would align to facilitate such an arrangement… but it was the first time I begrudged Edward's ability to mind read. I would've loved to keep these visions a secret, but that was an impossibility, and Edward's admonishments enhanced my guilt tenfold. I knew his reaction was engendered by his own emotional state: his fear of losing control himself; his incredulity at the very idea of being in a romantic relationship with a human, let alone one's singer; his condemnation of the situation entirely because of Jasper. All the same, there were many happy potential futures, for both Jordan and I's friendship, and the ever-present chance of it evolving romantically.

When Jordan and Bella became an item, things began to obscure. I could still predict Jordan and I spending time together, but when and how became fuzzy. Because of my focus on him those first few weeks, I continued to have sporadic visions about him, usually with Bella, which proved challenging because a handful of those were sexually explicit (and quite kinky). Edward resented these insights too, and they had a curious effect on his potential futures. With every interaction he had with Bella, his pursuit became less about her blood and more about her person. He was persistently indecisive though, always wrestling with the idea of leaving: whether that be to the Denali clan —where he'd spent six days away to initially distance himself from his dilemma— or striking out on his own to become a nomad. Carlisle had offered to relocate our entire coven …we'd only been in Forks for several years, and Edward and I both encountering our singers was a very valid reason to leave… but I assured our family it wasn't necessary, because it wasn't. All of us projected pleasant futures in Forks. There would just be some…obstacles.

"On the contrary, Rose, there are a number of ways this could end well," I chirped.

She rolled her eyes, and so did Edward, which made me sigh. He and I had always been so close, relating to each other by our exceptional yet burdensome abilities, but our shared quandary was conversely driving us apart. He judged me on my feelings; I accepted him for his. He was being pessimistic and fatalistic; I was being optimistic and confident. _Edward_ , I thought at him. His eyes flicked to mine. _Don't be so hard on yourself. It's been weeks since I've seen an outcome with you killing Bella. You're stronger than you give yourself credit for. We can do this._

His face contorted with a micro expression of pain before his intended scoff. He stood with Emmett and Rosalie to scrape their trays into the trash and proceed to Spanish. I sighed once more, snuggling close to Jasper, comforted as always by his presence. He put his arm around me and surrounded me with his love via his gift. This overshadowed my pangs of guilt, my near constant companion. Jasper noticed it all the same —isolated it— and assuaged it. "I know you can't help it," he murmured into my hair. I couldn't help Jordan being my singer, maybe. But my attraction to him was all my fault.


	16. Chapter 16

**_This chapter includes a scene of Jordan watching a football game with his dad, but technically it wouldn't be football season anymore within the story's calendar, and the Chargers just announced that they are leaving San Diego to play for Los Angeles, so... just bear with me._**

 ** _Please leave a review after you're done reading! It means a lot!_**

 **SIXTEEN**

ALICE POV

Jordan Castro was standing outside my English classroom, one white Converse sneaker flat against the brick wall behind him, hands in his pockets. My talent told me he'd be there, waiting for me after school, planning on inviting me to hang out that night. My emotions wrestled each other the rest of my final period. Now, being so near him, I felt my resolve begin to melt… but I steeled myself.

"Hey Alice," he greeted with his disarming charm. He pushed off the wall and moved to hug me. I took a deep breath to stifle his smell, but he was already too close, and I was swathed in his delicious, dangerous scent as he wrapped his warm body around me. I hugged him back despite myself —being close to him rendered me almost powerless— and tried to ignore the venom that flowed into my mouth. "How are you? We haven't had the chance to talk in Gym."

That was true. Coach Clapp chose to separate the males and females for our unit on flag football. Part of me was upset, naturally, but the decision provided for two semi-contradicting benefits: it allowed me some distance from Jordan, which I'd hoped would cool my feelings for him, but it also allowed him to spend more time with Jasper and Emmett, which brought him closer to my family.

If my feelings had cooled at all, they were reignited now. He was still holding me. "I've been good," I laughed nervously, torn between breaking away and prolonging our embrace. He thankfully released me, relieving me of the verdict.

"You were absent for a few days last week," he remarked. "Your brothers and sister, too."

"Well, the sun was out," I replied as we strolled toward the parking lot.

"What does that matter?"

I bit my lip. I had answered so many of his questions already, much to Carlisle and Esme's displeasure. I explained that Jordan had drawn his own conclusions, that each of us had compromised our exposure at different intervals, and my parents did understand that, with Edward's vehicular rescue of Bella as the outstanding example. But I had supplied many unnecessary details to the human boy, each one placing my family deeper and deeper into his confidence.

"You're hesitating," he observed, looking sidelong at me, quizzically.

"I've told you a lot about…" I waited until a group of students passed by. "…vampires."

"It sounds like there's more to know." We walked in silence for a few minutes. I scolded myself for wanting to reach out for his hand, like Bella could so easily. Maybe Edward was right. Maybe leaving Jordan and Bella alone… letting them enjoy their human romance, live their mortal lives… maybe that was truly for the best. "What's wrong?" he asked suddenly, jolting me from my musings.

Goddamn he was perceptive. "Nothing," I said as the silver Volvo came into sight. "I'm just thinking."

"About what?"

For once his inquisitive nature was getting on my nerves. "Telling you my secret affected my whole family, Jordan," I said, careful not to snap at him. "You're a liability to our whole life in Forks. We have a lot of decisions to make now." I have a lot of decisions to make. I envisioned my crush asking 'Like what?' but he swallowed the query with the look I shot him. "You're going to have to be patient, Jordan."

"That's not a skill of mine," he muttered as we crossed the parking lot. "Bella is going to Port Angeles tonight with some friends. I was gonna ask if you wanted to hang out."

 _Of course I_ _want_ _to,_ I wished to say. _Let's do anything you want. Let me get my mind off of the significance of every additional word I say to you, or to Edward, or to Jasper. Let us spend the day away like nothing in the world matters but us._ Just then Edward looked up to lock eyes with me. His features darkened with disapproval. "I don't think I can," I answered, spirits sinking. "Sorry."

JORDAN POV

When Alice said she couldn't hang out, I was bummed. I joylessly rode home, lingering around the dirt path I knew led to the Cullens' house, not sure why I was doing so. When I actually made it to my place, I rolled myself a blunt and smoked it in the shower. The THC and hot water released the tension in my muscles, and alleviated my mood to an extent. I thought about how last week, in the locker room after Gym, I heard Emmett crack a 420 joke and I suggested we smoke up sometime. I liked the guy a lot —he was simpleminded but had a great sense of humor. We didn't talk about vampires at all… and I didn't know if he knew that I knew. That was probably one of the complications Alice had alluded to; I hated the fact that I'd made her life more difficult.

When I drudged downstairs, my dad was watching TV, a cold beer in his hand. He turned his head as I reached the bottom. "Hey!" he greeted. "Monday night football is on."

I crashed onto the couch next to him. "Who's playing?"

"Rams at Chargers," he said, wriggling his eyebrows at me. I simpered at the matchup. It was Los Angeles against San Diego, my favorite city versus my hometown. "Want a beer?" I ventured to the fridge and liberated a Coors Light from the six-pack, and brought another for my dad too. "Atta boy," he praised, and we clinked cans before drinking.

The first half of the game was great. The Chargers kicked off and recovered a fumble on the return. The Rams held them to a field goal at the 18 yard line: 0 to 3. The Chargers punted and the Rams settled for the touchback. They rushed the ball for a first down, and again for a third down conversion, before we started shutting down their running game. At the end of the first quarter, a Chargers lineman sacked the Rams quarterback, who was slow to get up afterwards. "He looks like he's hurt," my dad commented, getting up to retrieve two more beers.

I used the pause to check my phone. No new messages. I selected My Contacts and didn't have to go far: Alice's name was first, right next to Bella's. My thumb floated in between them… the choice of whom to text stressing me out. Then the phone buzzed in my hand.

'Hey.'

It was from Alice. My heart warmed —then turned icy, remembering her rebuke earlier in the day. Maybe rebuke is too strong of a word…but all the same, I'd felt rejected. 'Hey,' I replied. One word responses for the win.

"NICE!" my dad yelled, clapping his hands. I glanced up to see San Diego's legendary tight end sail into the end zone. "Touch down!" he said, poised for a high five. I delivered, albeit halfheartedly. He noticed. "What's up, son?" he asked, a crease forming in between the oceanic eyes we shared. His attention diverted to the phone in my lap. "Girl trouble?"

I laughed bitterly. "You could say that."

"What's up?" he asked again, resting his beer on the coffee table and orienting his body to face me. When I didn't answer straight away, he kept talking. "Everything okay with Bella?" I winced. In a way, everything was perfect. In another way, everything was wrong. "You've been spending the night over there a lot," he prompted. "Wasn't your anniversary over the weekend? How was that?"

I reached for my beer and took a long taste. "You remember Alice, Dad?" I asked, staring at the TV, unwilling to meet his gaze. The Rams had kicked a field goal when I wasn't looking. Score was 3 to 10.

"Of course. Sweet girl." Yes, she was sweet —and mysterious and fascinating and irresistible. I took another gulp. The announcers jabbered away their analysis as the half time show began, talking over one another, chuckling, debating boisterously. We let the noise fill the space between us, but my dad remained postured toward me, reclaiming his beer and sipping it thoughtfully.

I pulled my phone back out. 'I'm sorry for earlier,' her message read. 'Edward is such a hypocrite.' My brow furrowed. What could she mean by that?

I slid the device into my pocket without replying. The NFL anthem played again, signaling the start of the second half. I pinched my sinuses —trying to think, trying not to think. _When did my life become so dramatic?_ I wondered. The solution came quickly: _When I started keeping secrets._ There was one that came to mind immediately, one I could get off my chest right now. I took a deep breath. "…I almost said 'I love you'."

My dad flicked his head to me, flipping his dirty blonde hair out of his eyes. "To Alice?"

"No…to Bella." I leaned forward and grabbed my beer. "We finally had full blown sex on Saturday—"

"In Charlie's house?" he asked, grinning. "That was brave." I matched his smirk despite myself. He took the bait. "You fucked the Chief of Police's daughter —under his own roof!" He started laughing and I couldn't help but laugh along.

"Yeah, I guess I did." He extended his fist and I bumped it. Within minutes the hilarity ebbed away, and I was left with my cocktail of confusion. The Rams almost picked off a pass and my dad reacted with suitable indignation. "Dad," I said. "I'm trying to talk to you."

He grimaced. "Sorry, son." He snatched the remote and lowered the volume. "Go ahead," he said, twisting to face me. "I'm listening."

"So we had sex," I repeated, "and afterwards…I almost said it, but…"

"But what?"

Now it was my turn to grimace. "I thought about Alice," I admitted. "So I didn't say it."

He pondered that for a few moments. I gave up looking at him, my doppelganger that was twenty-five years my senior. Our penetrating eyes were yet another feature we had in common; it was disconcerting to have their effects reversed on me. The Chargers threw a true interception this time, but the safety fumbled, and we regained possession in the red zone. "Why not?" he asked as the network went to a commercial break.

It was the question I should have expected. That was the next natural thing to ask. When I tried to ponder for a moment, it didn't work. Time passed, and my voice was surprisingly soft spoken when I realized the answer. "I didn't want to hurt her," I said.

"Bella? Or Alice?"

"Either of them!" I drained the rest of my beer and crushed the can with one hand. I threw it and it bounced on the carpet and rolled underneath the coffee table. My head fell into my hands. "What's wrong with me, Dad?"

He tossed back the rest of his beer, and I heard him crush the can and discard it across the carpet too. I looked up to see if I'd heard right, and there it was, a second dented Coors Light adjacent to the first. "Your mom would love that," he said, grinning. I didn't break a smile this time. He sighed. "Be right back."

The Rams thwarted our third down conversion. The commentators claimed the Chargers had the worst record in the NFL of scores in the red zone. I believed it. My dad returned, opening the last can and handing it to me. "Thanks," I said, guiding it to my mouth. The buzz eased the pain of the subject matter.

"Did I ever tell you about Cynthia?" he asked, folding one leg onto his other knee.

I sipped my beer, eyes on the TV. "Don't think so."

"Well." He cleared his throat. "My senior year in high school I was editor of the yearbook. I wasn't as handsome as you are, but believe it or not I got a lot of female attention. The cheerleaders wanted a two page spread. Other girls wanted to retake their school photo. You get the idea.

"One day, Cynthia Akers came by the studio. She was president of the senior class, and she was stunning. Long black hair, emerald green eyes…she looked like a sexy Snow White." He chortled at his joke. Then his face turned contemplative. "She made a first impression I will never forget. The conversation I can barely remember —something about graduation— but, there was an instant attraction. Magnetic. She was unlike anyone I had ever met.

"Fast forward to my five year reunion. Your mom and I had been dating for maybe six weeks —you know the story of how we met— and I brought her to the reunion as my date. I caught up with some old buddies from the basketball team, and Miriam was much hotter than any of their girlfriends or wives." He smirked at the memory. "Of course, as senior class president, Cynthia was there. She looked as if she hadn't aged a day. I waited for your mom to start chatting up some acquaintances before I said hello. Again, I don't remember what we talked about…but that same draw was there." He looked at me. "Magnetism."

I nodded slowly. I could relate. Magnetism was an excellent word for it. "So what did you do?"

"I flipped a coin."

"…What?"

"I flipped a coin," he repeated, laughing. "I couldn't choose! Both of them were gorgeous. Killer personalities. One woman I was getting to know. The other I'd never gotten a chance to." He reached for my beer, left forgotten on the coffee table. "Heads, Miriam. Tails, Cynthia."

He took a drink. I blinked at him. "Are you serious?"

"I didn't know how to choose!" he said with a shrug. "I'm not saying that's what you should do. It's just what I did." He climbed down off the couch and started picking up the empty cans. "All I know is, the moment I launched that quarter into the air …I knew what I was hoping for." He winked and disappeared into the kitchen.


End file.
